Fall From A Star
by Hunter0309
Summary: Messing around in Washu's lab is always a recipe for disaster. This time Tenchi and Ryoko get teleported into the world of Trinity Blood. It's up to Ryoko to find and rescue Tenchi from vampires with the aide of the clumsy Abel Nightroad, and return home.
1. Falling From a Star

"Ryoko!! I can't breathe!!" Tenchi's face turned a dark shade of blue when she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck to piss Ayeka off.

"Get off of him you brute!!" the purple-haired space princess narrowed her eyes at Ryoko before she tried to slap the space pirate off _her _man.

Washu sighed pathetically, "Another day in the Masaki household..." Shaking her head, she went back to typing on her keyboard entering numbers no one could possibly fathom.

"Hey-hey-hey!! Watch it! OW-" Tenchi was caught in the middle of the slapping fit between the two alien girls. After the sixth accidental slap across his face, Tenchi exploded at the top of his lungs for Ryoko and Ayeka to stop fighting. "STOP IT!!!"

Still clinging to Tenchi's neck, they cyan-haired space pirate pulled the top half of his body back towards her – away from Ayeka. "Here Tenchi, come away with me...away from this bitchy, big-nosed princess..." she stuck her tongue out at Ayeka.

"Why you little-" Ayeka snatched the front of Tenchi's shirt and tugged him towards her instead. Within seconds, another tug-of-war ensued for the boy's attention and affection.

"Be careful you three- every time you fight in here...something goes wrong..." Washu muttered over the girls' arguing and Tenchi's cry for help. _You three are a recipe for disaster I swear_, the crazy scientist thought silently to herself.

Tenchi wasn't the most graceful of human beings in the first place and this back and forth motion was making him dizzy. With one final tug, Ryoko pulled him backwards into her arms but managed to accidentally get decked in the face by the back of Tenchi's head.

Both slightly stunned by the collision, Ryoko and Tenchi fell backwards into the table full of Washu's experiments that were considered "unsuccessful." There was a sudden flash of bright light and small explosion when the back of Ryoko's hand touched a small black cube.

- - - - - - - - -

"Look at that… It almost looks like a falling star," Abel Nightroad pointed up as a small fiery object shot across the night sky. His blue eyes followed the ball of fire until it appeared to have crashed into a building off in the distance. "Isn't that where the catacombs are Father Tres?" he glanced over to a younger, red-haired man dressed in similar black robes.

"Affirmative. Should we alert the AX of this disturbance?" Tres' voice seemed to have no emotion.

The silver-haired priest nodded, "Yes…we probably should go check it out. Someone might have been hurt."

"Sister Kate," Father Tres said in his emotionless tone of voice, "I am detecting a disturbance by the rubble near the catacombs. Permission to check it out." He stood perfectly still as he awaited his orders, "Affirmative," he responded when she relayed him orders from the AX headquarters. "We are to move with caution," Tres stated to his AX companion.

"Alright, let's go then…" Abel pushed his glasses closer to his face before he bolted after Tres in the darkness.

Moving with inhuman speed, Tres maneuvered his way through the rubble of the destroyed building to a thick wall of grey smoke that was being emitted from the center. He revealed the gun holsters on the sides of his chest as he quickly drew his weapons to destroy whatever threat there was.

"This is strange…" Abel whispered as he moved around the rubble precariously.

Tres instantly lifted his guns when he heard movement coming from within the smoke. "State your reason for trespassing at the Vatican," his eyes focused in on a black figure standing in the middle of the smoke.

Coughing, a young girl with cyan-colored hair ventured out of the smoke. Her clothes were torn in several places and she had black smudges all over her skin. "Remind me to never go back into Washu's lab ever again Ten-" her yellow eyes opened wide when she realized that someone she had never seen before was talking to her. "Oh fuck me…" Ryoko's jaw dropped when it hit her that she wasn't in Washu's lab anymore. _Not this again…_

As Tres flashed a light directly into Ryoko's face to get a better look at her, Abel noticed that she had slightly sharp fangs as her yellow eyes stared blankly at the two oddly-dressed men. Father Tres spotted this also, "Vampire," he stated before he began shooting at Ryoko with both of his guns.

"Hey! What the fuck?!" Dodging the silver bullets by transporting back and forth, Ryoko finally retreated back into the grey smoke and away from the bright light. _What the fuck is going on here?! Where am I?! What the hell did he just call me?_ She was somewhat relieved to have the grey smoke around her as some sort of cover. It would soon settle though, she would have to move quickly.

"Stop! Wait Tres!!" Abel grabbed Tres' left arm and jerked him away from following her into the smoke. "We don't know that for sure!"

Tres gave his partner a blank look, "Orders are to kill any vampires on sight while at the Vatican…"

_Fuck! They are going to kill me? Fuck this_… Ryoko produced her energy sword in her right hand, _I'll kill you first then_. Teleporting out of the smoke, the space pirate rammed both of the surprised men at full speed – knocking Abel over and forcing Tres to drop one of his weapons. _Now I'll just separate you two!_

Ryoko went after Abel sensing he was the weaker of the two, swiping her energy sword while he narrowly dodged her attacks by tripping backwards through the rubble. She pushed him towards the smoke until he finally climbed to his feet and bolted into it for cover.

"Can't we talk about this first?!" Abel shrieked like a little girl as he ducked down from another one of her attacks. "I'm sure as a vampire-" the priest jumped back as she took another swipe at him with her sword, "- you would have a good reason to be at the Vatican in the middle of the night-"

"Father Nightroad…damage report…" Tres called from the other side of the smoke. He couldn't lock onto the attacker without hitting Abel in the process.

"Vampire…? How _dare_ you call me a vampire!" Ryoko grabbed the fragile-looking priest by the shirt collar and brought him close to her snarling face. "Look here _Nighty-_"

"Um," Abel squeaked in a small voice, "It's Abel _Nightroad _actually…"

"Shut-up you little worm!! I didn't give you permission to interrupt me!" she stared him down with her yellow eyes. "I don't know where the hell I am…I've lost my Tenchi-"

"Tenchi? Is that some sort of drink…?"

Ryoko pulled him to her eye level, "And I especially don't need you or your son to get in my way!!"

"Son?" Abel could barely follow the conversation. "Oh - you mean Father Tres… He's a priest, not my son…" he laughed lightly at the thought of being mistaken for Gunslinger's father.

"A priest…?" Ryoko glanced curiously at him for a split second. "Argh, enough games!! Where did you take Tenchi?!"

Beads of sweat began running down Abel's pale face, "Is this Tenchi a vampire also?"

"I AM NOT A VAMPIRE!!" Ryoko's eyes suddenly changed from a soft yellow hue to blood red. "I AM A NOTORIOUS SPACE PIRATE!" She was growing tired of this confusion, "If you call me a vampire again – I'll fucking kill you. So you better start answering my questions…OR ELSE!!"

_Space pirate? _Abel nodded quickly, "Of course, of course…I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" He would have to dwell on that term later if he wanted to survive this.

"First," Ryoko cleared her throat and moved her energy sword away from the priest's chest, "What's a vampire…?"

"WHAT?!" Abel looked at her dumbfounded, "You're threatening to kill me over a word you don't even understand!!" he flailed his arms about in frustration. "You have got to be kidding me!" The silver-haired priest froze when he heard a shot fired from a few feet away.

Ryoko felt something stinging her shoulder at first, and then she could feel her blood dripping down her arm. While the two were arguing back and forth, the smoke had finally cleared. She released Abel from her grip to examine her bleeding shoulder, "This is a new feeling…" Her ears twitched when she heard a clicking sound, _Time to go_. Before Tres could get a second shot on Ryoko, she faded away into the darkness.

"Father Nightroad, I repeat. Damage report," Tres extended a steady open hand to his clumsy partner.

"I'm just fine," he accepted Tres' helping hand and got back to his feet. Brushing the dust from his shoulders, Abel glanced around at the scene now he could see it a little bit clearer.

"Father Tres, what was the disturbance?" Sister Kate's voice echoed in Gunslinger's right ear.

"Found rubble by the catacombs. A vampire was the cause to this disturbance," he glanced at the crumbling structures slowly being revealed with the fading smoke, "The _target_ got away before it could be apprehended."

"Target?" Sister Kate repeated. "Was it a vampire Father Tres?"

_I don't think that was a vampire though_… Abel folded his arms across his chest as he thought more about it. _Did she really come from space? Is she a…no…she can't be…_ The priest looked up at the night sky to see the sparkling stars, _There were only three of us I thought_.

"Undetermined at this time..." Father Tres finally responded after observing the befuddled expression on Abel's face.


	2. The Meeting of Two Different Worlds

"So you don't believe that she was a vampire?" Sister Caterina adjusted her monocle as she gave Abel Nightroad a peculiar look. "But she is not a Crusnik either…"

Abel sighed, "Exactly. She said that she was from space…looking for someone or something named Tenchi." He sipped on his tea before he said more about the matter, "I think she was just lost. She had no clue what was going on or where she was…"

"You believe that she will not be a threat to the Vatican then?" she spoke in an authoritative tone of voice.

"I don't know for sure but-"

A hologram-like image of a woman dressed in white appeared in front of Caterina and Abel. "I just received word that the unidentified female being Father Nightroad and Father Tres encountered at the catacombs has been spotted. She has taken a little girl as hostage and demands to speak to someone named Tenchi."

"Thank you Sister Kate," Caterina glanced over at Abel, "Take Leon and Valclav with you…"

* * *

"Daddy…I'm scared…" cried the little girl as Ryoko held her close with her energy sword near the girl's throat.

"It's alright sweetheart, I'll make sure the vampire won't hurt you…" her father reassured his daughter in a soft voice.

Ryoko's eyes turned red, "STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

The space pirate had been wandering around the Vatican City for hours searching for Tenchi without any luck. Exhausted and hungry, she snuck into an empty kitchen through an open window, to get food and possibly some booze. The hole in her shoulder was draining most of her energy; Ryoko had no idea why it was hurting so much. She didn't realize that the silver bullet was still lodged in and she would have to pull it out before she would feel any better. While ransacking the kitchen, a little girl had come downstairs to get a glass of milk to help her sleep. Within seconds after the little girl's screaming, the father came running down the stairs with a weapon similar to Gunslinger's. Reacting quickly, Ryoko snatched the daughter and demanded to know what planet she was on and where they were holding Tenchi.

"What kind of vampire takes a little girl hostage anyway…?" snorted a voice from the doorway.

The space pirate's right hand twitched when she heard the word again. "I thought I said to STOP SAYING THAT!" Ryoko opened her right hand to create a ball of blue electricity instead of her energy sword, "I demand that you take me to Tenchi or I'll kill her."

Leon chuckled at Ryoko like she had made the threat half-heartedly, "We both know that you would never make such a stupid move like that because if you kill her – we can then kill you. You wouldn't accomplish anything that way…" he flicked his wavy black hair away from his face.

"Please just let her go. We'll help you find this Tenchi person…" Abel took a step towards her.

"You again?" Ryoko snarled as she backed up with the girl still in her clutches, "I thought I was finally rid of your _pathetic _hide…" she drew the ball of electricity closer to her hostage's crying face.

Abel could see her hand was shaking – the wound in her shoulder was making her weaker. "You can trust me. We can help you…" He took another cautious step closer but Ryoko did not back away this time. "Please…don't hurt her…"

The sincerity in Abel's voice made Ryoko relax her grip on the child, "I just want to go home," she whispered. Biting her lip for a moment, the space pirate finally released the little girl from her death grip. When the girl was back in her father's arms, Ryoko glanced at Abel – he had the same faint smile Tenchi always has on his face when she does something right.

Suddenly Ryoko's wounded arm twisted itself backwards and she was forced down to her knees. While she was screaming out in pain with her eyes glowing bright red, Valclav revealed himself as the one who was manipulating Ryoko's body. As she tried to break free from his grip, Leon sprinted across the room with a syringe in his hands and injected the green liquid into her exposed neck.

_What's going on_… Ryoko's movements were becoming sluggish. In a last valiant attempt to break free, the space pirate took a swing at Valclav's face, which missed him by centimeters, and kicked Leon square in the chest. While Leon was catching his breath, Valclav quickly pulled out his gun, pressed it against her cheek, and twisted her bleeding arm even more to keep her under control until the drugs kicked in. She lifted her head slightly to see Abel staring down at her with a sorrowful look in his blue eyes. _Liar_… her yellow eyes rolled to the back of her head and she finally fell unconscious.

"Phew," Leon wiped the sweat from his forehead, "She certainly put up a fight…didn't she? I thought Wordworth's tranquilizers worked instantaneously on vampires…"

"She's not a vampire…" Abel whispered as he watched her sleep.

* * *

Ryoko stared down the scientist smoking on his black pipe in complete silence. "You know," Wordworth chimed in a positive tone of voice, "The sooner you tell me what happened…the sooner we can get your wound healed…"

When she did not respond, the AX member let out a long sigh. "So we are going to play it this way…are we?" He got up out of his chair and left the inquisitorial room with a gloomy expression on his face.

Glancing over her shoulder, Ryoko narrowed her yellow eyes at Father Tres. "What are you staring at?" she snarled.

Wordworth scratched the top of his head as he shut the door behind him. "I don't know what to do…she won't say anything. She's worse than that little witch if you ask me…" He looked over to Abel, "She responded quite well to you last time…didn't she?"

_What good will it do me now? I told her to trust me and when she does she is attacked from the behind…_ Abel nodded to his old friend in silence. He entered the inquisitorial room quietly and pulled the wooden chair right next to her. The priest could feel her yellow eyes judging him already – plotting her revenge. "I'm sorry about what happened back there…and you have the right to be angry-" Ryoko spat in his face, "-with me."

He removed his glasses and wiped them clean with the edge of his robe sleeve. "I know you are not a vampire… A vampire is a being that sucks the blood of Terrans – ordinary humans. You are something completely different, aren't you? Your powers are like nothing I've encountered before…" He was speaking of the way she controls electricity and teleports in and out of an area. "But you are vulnerable," Abel placed his glasses back on his face. "Whatever you are…you need help… That wound is draining you-"

"I am not WEAK!" Ryoko growled as she made an attempt to break free from her chains. She froze when Tres pressed one of his large guns against the back of her skull. "Why do I want your help anyways? While you're holding me prisoner, whoever took Tenchi is still out there _breathing_…" she glared at the humble priest.

"Who is Tenchi?"

"Tenchi is…" she seemed to go into a day dream as she searched the words to describe him. "He's a kind-hearted, clumsy human with extraordinary inhuman powers." Ryoko lowered her head in sorrow, "And I'm not there to protect him…"

The space pirate nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Abel's hand on her bleeding shoulder, "Hey-watch it!" She flinched when he dug three of his fingers into the wound to find what was causing her so much pain.

Within seconds, Abel removed the silver bullet that was wedged into her shoulder and dropped it on the table. "This is what a bullet looks like…" he remembered how confused she was when she had been shot.

"That little thing did all of that damage…?" Ryoko looked at her shoulder and then back at the bullet. _These are human weapons...but not as primitive as I remember them being..._ "I am on Earth at least?" she sighed with relief when he nodded. She glanced over to see her blood stained on his white glove, "So what are you then?"

Abel gave her a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"

"By your definitions…you are not a vampire nor are you a Terran," Ryoko could see the horror unfold in Abel's soft blue eyes. _You really are just like Tenchi... A complete bumbling fool always getting into trouble but capable of something more when pushed to the limit_.

_How does she know that_? Abel stared blankly at her in reply. "And what makes you think that?" he asked in a calm voice.

"You wouldn't want to kill your own kind if you were a vampire. It is obvious that they are the enemy around here," she muttered quietly. "I know you aren't Terran because you show some type of sympathy towards vampires. Besides, I can sense a demon in you..." she muttered in a low tone. Abel could feel his heart stop when she said this, "You and I are not as different as you think."

Wordworth glanced over at Sister Caterina, who had left her office to listen in on the inquisition, "The second anomaly was located in the heart of Byzantium wasn't it...?"

"We will send a team to investigate in the morning," she continued to watch the space pirate interact with the priest. "If that second anomaly is anything like this…we do not want it falling into dangerous hands."

* * *

Note to readers: Hey, I just realized that my bars used to separate the chapter's sections were not appearing correctly. I'm sorry about that. Hopefully by re-adding the bars the story will flow a little bit easier for you.

-Hunter (July 16, 2010 update) 


	3. The Rise of the Orden

Stretching his arms high above his head and yawning loudly, Leon watched the space pirate curiously as she stared out the window with a look of amazement in her yellow eyes. "You really aren't from around here, are you?" he flicked his wavy black away from his face.

Ryoko momentarily glanced away from the window to glare at the AX member and then went back to studying the Byzantium capital city below them. She silently held her breath as their airship passed through the city's UV filter particle field.

This strange new world was troubling her more and more; but she blamed the majority of her nerves on the trigger-finger hungry Gunslinger that always kept one eye on her. Father Tres sat next to Abel with one hand over his favorite weapon, waiting for a reason to shoot the space pirate.

"We will be entering the heart of the capital shortly," muttered the long, blonde-haired priest that was sitting next to Leon. Father Hugue de Watteau, but she had heard others call him "Sword Dancer", slid his hand down on his staff as he leaned forward to give Abel a stern look. "Best to let _her_ know what the plan is," he was talking about Ryoko of course.

Abel nodded and glanced over his shoulder to Ryoko; she pretended like she had not heard Hugue's cold words of advice to the clumsy priest. "We are meeting with an old friend of mine," he moved from his seat over to the window she was staring out of. "She and her men will help us find your Tenchi," Abel gave her a weak smile hoping that it would reassure her troubled mind.

"Then why are there two more long-haired prissy boys tagging along with us this time?" Ryoko hissed loudly enough for Leon and Hugue to hear her. "If the people ruling this city are your allies...why are we treating this like a top secret mission?"

Sensing that she already knew the answer to her question, Abel let a small sigh out as he turned to look out at the breath-taking view. "Because there is a chance someone may have already found your friend..."

"_Someone_?" Ryoko narrowed her yellow eyes at the silver-haired priest.

"He's talking about a Methuselah terrorist organization known as the Rosenkreuz Orden-" Hugue began.

"But we haven't had any movement from them in years now! After that war we waged with them...we must have killed them all," Leon shook the memories of the bloody battle out of his mind.

"It would just be _wise_ to play it safe like the Rosenkreuz are still _active_ Leon." It was obvious that Hugue held a huge disdain for the vampire race.

Abel leaned close to the space pirate while Leon and Hugue argued back and forth about the Orden and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry we will find your friend in one piece."

* * *

The palace that Abel's "friend" lived in made the thief in Ryoko want to smuggle all of the gold, jewels, and ancient artifacts back onto the airship. She eyed each priceless piece as they walked through several hallways with her hands behind her back to help prevent her from stealing.

Leon caught her eyeing a small golden statue of a tiger, "Pretty nice stuff huh?" he sneered so only she could hear him. "Don't give Father Hugue a reason to kill you," the ex-prisoner advised in a serious tone.

Inside the golden statue's mouth was a small crystal capsule that contained a dark green gas that slowly swirled around. She could sense tremendous energy being emitted from the tiny capsule. Ryoko remembered that she and Washu had stolen something very similar to that a long time ago. It was unstable though and extremely dangerous. Not really thinking all the way through, Ryoko swiped the green energy capsule from the tiger's mouth without anyone noticing. Pocketing it, the space pirate planned on using that in only a dire situation.

The Methuselah servant led the AX members and Ryoko to an elaborate solid gold door and told them to wait here for the Viscountess of Odessa and Duchess of Kiev.

_What a mouthful that is_, Ryoko hoped she wouldn't have to call this vampire by that title. For a second Ryoko thought about Ayeka and the others back home. Though she hated to admit it, she missed them all...especially arguing with the stuck-up princess. Staring down at the floor, the space pirate wondered what they were doing – if they were trying to find a way to get her and Tenchi back.

Abel watched Ryoko with a concerned look in his blue eyes but tore his eyes away from her when the golden door suddenly opened. Bowing to the royal Methuselah, he introduced his fellow AX members and Ryoko to the young female vampire. "This is Astharoshe Asran, Viscountess of Odessa-"

"Oh, Abel...you all can call me Asthe," she smiled at her old friend. "Come on in, I was just having some tea with my guest," she gestured for the Vatican group to follow her inside. Ryoko stopped at the edge of the doorway when she spotted a giant tiger lounging on several plush pillows in the center of the room. "Oh don't worry, he is perfectly friendly," she gave the cyan-haired space pirate a reassuring grin.

"Father Nightroad!" an extremely young red-haired girl stood up from her seat at the small round table where she had been drinking tea. She was dressed in a long, light pink ball gown, with roses weaved into her hair and the crown on top of her head.

"Esther," Abel grinned from ear to ear and hugged her tightly. It was the first time Ryoko could see a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"What are you all doing away from the Vatican?" Esther glanced around at the three familiar AX members' faces and then stopped on Ryoko's.

Acting formal once again, Abel introduced Ryoko to Esther Blanchett, the Queen of Albion. Forcing a fake smile on her face, Ryoko bowed to the young girl. _We are wasting too much time dealing with all of these stupid introductions and formalities_, she hoped they would get down to business soon.

"They are here for the anomaly that happened last night over in the Empire area," Asthe plopped down on one of the pillows next to her tiger and gestured to her guests to sit.

Instead of sitting, Ryoko leaned against the wall next to the tea table with her arms folded smugly across her chest. Driven mad by the awkward silence in the room, the space pirate finally got the conversation going. "Did you find anything – or any one?" When Asthe shook her head, Ryoko pressed harder on the matter. "Do you know _exactly_ where the anomaly landed?" The second head shake made Ryoko frustrated, _How the fuck am I going to find Tenchi now? These people are absolutely useless!_

"Ryoko it is alright," Abel whispered to her to keep her calm as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"NO IT'S NOT!" she snarled at the priest with her slightly sharpened canines flashing. "While we are here sipping tea talking about the fucking weather, Tenchi could be hurt or dying!"

Asthe glanced over at Abel and the AX members, "Was _she_ the anomaly at the Vatican?"

* * *

"Alright let's try this again..." Washu removed her overly-large protective eyewear from her face. The mad scientist signaled for Mihoshi to touch one of the out-of-order experiments Washu had tossed onto a table in her messy lab.

Gingerly reaching out with one finger with her eyes tightly shut, the klutzy blond space police officer poked the next failed experiment on the table. After nothing happened, Mihoshi slowly opened one eye to see if she had been teleported somewhere. When she saw Ayeka and Washu poke their heads above the overturned table, she sighed with relief. "Guess this one doesn't work either, huh?"

"Damnit," Washu tossed her green goggles at the closest lab wall. "At this rate we won't know which of my experiments they accidentally touched for days!"

"Maybe if we have more testers?" Ayeka asked in a small voice. She had never seen Washu this frustrated before; usually the scientist was up-beat and crazy.

The crazed smile returned on Washu's lips, "Perfect! Go grab Tenchi's father and grandfather...they have a knack for making my failures suddenly work too."

* * *

"Find anything yet Father Tres?" Abel asked his partner through his communication ear piece. He sounded worried; it was nearly nightfall and his team had not found one clue leading to Tenchi's fate.

"Negative," the machine replied in an emotionless voice.

Ryoko grumbled under her breath after hearing that response as she paced back and forth in Asthe's comfortable tea room. She was still peeved that she would have to sit and wait for the others to come back from searching the anomaly site. Following Hugue's orders, Abel and Ryoko were to stay at the palace while the three AX members searched the city for any clues about Tenchi's whereabouts. It was clear that none of them trusted the space pirate or that she was telling the truth about Tenchi.

"Do those tracks look like drag marks to you?" Leon's loud voice echoed in the silent room from Abel's ear piece. The space pirate stopped pacing and moved closer to Abel to listen in on the investigation.

"Sssh!" Hugue hissed in a cold voice, "Do you hear that?" There was a long pause from the other end. "GET OUT OF THERE-" The priest's voice was drowned out by a loud explosion which cut the communication between him and Abel short.

The ground rumbled, causing the china tea cups to clatter against their matching china plates. The lights flickered on and off for a moment until they finally went out completely. "They must have blown up the main power grid," growled Asthe; she sounded more annoyed than worried.

Having no trouble seeing in the dark, Asthe lit a few candles that were on her fancy tea table. Esther began to whimper but Abel hushed her sternly. "Something's not right..." the silver-haired priest glanced over to Ryoko to warn her that danger was near.

Heavy pounding on the other side of the golden door made Esther jump out of her seat in fright but she managed to keep her mouth shut. "Viscountess?" called a servant in a worried tone, "Are you alright?"

Asthe let out a small sigh, "Yes. Everything is alright," she reached out to open the door but stopped when her pet tiger let out a long growl and barred its teeth. Pausing for a moment at the door, the Methuselah thought it be best not to open the door.

Without any warning, the solid golden door was knocked off its hinges and several dark figures rushed into the room and swarmed the doorway. With inhuman speed, two of the figures attacked Asthe, who was caught completely off-guard, and struck her hard in the head.

Leaping into action, Ryoko and the giant tiger went after the dangerous intruders. Even moving at her full speed, the space pirate was slow compared to the dark figures. She barely had enough time to block their strikes with her energy sword. They were a lot stronger than she had expected too.

"Esther get back!" Abel yelled as he pulled out both of his pistols to protect her. _Death Hunters no doubt_, he glanced around to room to see if there was another exit. _That means that Dietrich is not far away_...

Collapsing to the ground with one last mighty roar, the evil figures surrounded the tiger to deliver several killing blows. Once the tiger was dead, they moved together in unison towards Ryoko with their swords dripping the tiger's blood on the floor.

_SHIT! _The space pirate slowly backed away from the enemies; there was no way she could defeat them all by herself. She moved backwards in the opposite direction of Abel and Esther, hoping that either they would split up or just give the priest and queen enough time to escape. The dark figures did neither; they continued to move in unison towards Abel and Esther.

Abel glanced over his shoulder to see Esther cowering behind him with tears in her eyes, _He wants you_... Acting quickly he fired several bullets at the attackers, killing at least one with a clean head shot. "Get Esther out of here Ryoko! They want her!" he yelled as he charged forward to distract them long enough.

Teleporting in front of Esther, which made the redhead jump again from the shock of her abilities, Ryoko grabbed the queen's hand and teleported out of the tea room into the hallway. "_Run_," she hissed in Esther's ear, "I'll cover you." The space pirate looked back one last time to see Abel give her a short nod before one of the Death Hunters raked his shoulder.

Sprinting down the hallway after Esther, Ryoko's mind was running in all directions. She had no idea what was going on or what she was dealing with. Not knowing the enemy worried her, but what bothered her the most was not knowing what she was protecting. Esther's shriek up ahead made Ryoko snap out of her thoughts.

A tall, young brown-haired boy with the face of an angel tightly gripped Esther's tiny wrists with one strong hand. "_Miss me Esther_?" he whispered with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"Drop her," Ryoko growled with her yellow eyes glowing with anger.

Dietrich slowly looked Ryoko up and down with the smile still lingering on his perfect lips. The way he was looking at her made Ryoko's skin crawl; he instantly reminded her of Kagato. "Ah," he jerked Esther closer to him, "I've heard about _you_... You're that second _anomaly_."

It became clear that he was the one that had found Tenchi. "_Where is he_?" she could feel the back of her neck get hot as her rage continued to grow.

"Your friend is in good hands," he smirked as he looked into Ryoko's yellow eyes, "and so will she."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Esther tried to squirm free from his grip but Dietrich used his free hand to snatch her by the throat.

"Struggling will only make it worse my dear," he said in a calm and soothing voice. "We need you in one piece...we have _great_ plans for you Esther," Dietrich released her throat once she stood still. He turned his attention back to Ryoko, "Now for your friends...especially that meddling priest...I'd be more worried about them if I was you."

Ryoko could still hear the gunshots behind her in the empty hallway; Abel was still alive at least. "Funny..." she chuckled in a low voice, "I'd be more worried for your life if I was you." Taking a few swipes at the young boy, all of her attacks fell short when he used Esther as his personal human shield.

"_Coward_," Ryoko muttered. She hoped that this would strike a nerve.

"Sorry my dear Esther," Dietrich tossed Esther across the hallway and slammed her hard against the stone wall. He sighed pathetically when her body slumped to the ground. "I was going to let you live..." he unpocketed a string and began to play with it in his hands. "But now I think it would be better if I made you my _puppet_."


	4. Demon Caller

Abel wiped the vampire blood from his face and readjusted his glasses on his face. He stumbled over to Asthe's limp body and released a heavy sigh of relief when he found her only unconscious. Checking his pistols, the silver-haired priest's stomach churned when he counted how many silver bullets he had left. _Six_... He froze when he heard a yell from the end of the hallway, it sounded like Ryoko's voice.

Rushing out into the stone corridor, Abel came to an abrupt halt when he saw the space pirate kneeling before Dietrich. The young sadist snapped his fingers to summon more Death Hunters from the shadows and into the hallway. Dietrich casually glanced up to meet Abel's gaze, "How good of you to join us finally _Father_," he smiled. "Your new friend here doesn't want to play with me it seems," he sounded disappointed. "Such a pity...she would make such a _fun_ puppet."

"Go..._fuck _your-self..." Ryoko spat her blood out at his shoes. _I'll kill you, just you wait and see_.

Ignoring her insult and the blood spatter on his black shoes, Dietrich gracefully walked over to Esther's unconscious body and picked her up with great ease. "_Kill them both_," he flicked his short brown hair away from his beautiful face before he walked out of the hallway with the queen flung over his shoulder.

"Ryoko!" Abel rushed down the hallway to protect her from the fresh Death Hunters. He blocked an oncoming attack by using one of his pistols as a shield. The priest was shocked to find Ryoko still had enough strength left to fight the remaining resurrected vampire corpses.

It wasn't enough though; the Death Hunters were quickly wearing them down. Abel collapsed to the floor, with his blood seeping from the wounds he sustained in the battle, when he could no longer fight. _I have to use it..._he regretted using the Krusnik that lurked inside of him. It had been three years since the last time he resorted to succumbing to the incredible power inside of him. _I have to save_...

"Abel!" _Why did you have to risk your pathetic hide like that for me? _Ryoko retreated from the fight to stand in front of the wounded priest. _I guess it's my turn to be the hero... _The space pirate unpocketed the green-tinted capsule that she had stolen and twirled it around in her fingers. "I'd run," she hissed to Abel before she absorbed the capsule into her forehead.

Ryoko's heart was racing in her chest; the adrenaline rush she had injected into her blood stream was enough to kill any normal human being. Her body began to transform into something the vampire or human race had never seen before. The muscles on her body bulged and became more defined, her stature increased by a foot, and her fingers grew into deadly claws. Spikes shot out of the back of her shoulders and on the tips of her elbows. Her facial features hardened until she was no longer recognizable as a human and her fangs sharpened to protrude out of her closed mouth. Ryoko's eyes were no longer yellow; they glowed with every color in the world.

_We are the same_... Abel's blue eyes widened with horror as he watched what Ryoko had transformed into. _This is what the others must feel_ _when they see me_.

Unleashing her full power on them, Ryoko quickly wiped out the group of Death Hunters all except for one in only a few movements. Purposely, the demonic creature had left the last vampire corpse alive long enough to torture him and to taunt Dietrich. The final Death Hunter was not to go down without a fight though. He unsheathed his sword and used his inhuman speed to strike at her with all his might. The Death Hunter's eyes flashed blood red as he delivered the blow.

Catching the blade with the palm of her hand, Ryoko stopped it from reaching her chest. The Death Hunter paused; she was far stronger and faster than what he had calculated. Wrapping her hand around the edges of the sword, the space pirate shattered the blade into several large pieces. Using her other hand, she tore through the vampire corpse's chest and ripped out his heart without making a single sound. Clenching the vampire's heart in her fist, she watched him die slowly with a smile on her demonic face. Looking into her colorful eyes, the last thing the vampire corpse saw was the reflection of his horror on his own face.

Once he was dead, Ryoko tossed his bloody body and his smothered heart with his comrades. Abel could no longer look at her. Was she the same as him? "_Ryoko_...?" the priest asked in a small voice once he had enough courage to speak. He froze when she turned around and locked her glowing eyes onto his; there was nothing left of Ryoko. _Is this how I look?_ Abel knew that his Krusnik form was frightening but he didn't know that he lost everything when he became the monster.

Slowly walking over to him, the demonic creature snatched the wounded priest by the throat and lifted him to her eye level. "Don't do this..." he desperately grabbed her wrist, "Don't let this darkness swallow you!" Abel started to reach for his pistol but he stopped himself, "I won't kill my friend!" he yelled at her.

Her racing heart began to slow; the adrenaline was finally wearing out in her blood stream. Ryoko's glowing demonic eyes softened to a solid yellow hue as she set the priest back on the ground. Her clawed hand was loosely gripping his throat now.

Suddenly, Abel watched a silver bullet whiz past his face and slice through Ryoko's wrist. Releasing a blood-curdling shriek, the demonic creature shrank away from the silver-haired priest and immediately tended to her severed wrist.

"0.25 degrees off target," Tres adjusted his aim to deliver the final blow.

"TRES DON'T!" Abel used his last bit of strength to rush over to Ryoko's side to prevent Gunslinger from getting a clear shot on her. The space pirate's body began to shrink, returning to her normal appearance in less than a minute.

Tres frowned in annoyance, "Father Nightroad. Please stand aside."

Running up behind the cyborg were Leon and Hugue; they had nicks and bruises all over their body but otherwise they were in perfect condition. "What happened here?" Leon's eyes were wide open with amazement.

Shuddering from exhaustion and the pain, Ryoko leaned against Abel's shoulder panting loudly. Her heart was still pounding in her chest and she could feel her head throbbing with pain. "I...I'm sorry," Ryoko whispered so only he could hear.

"It's alright... It's over now," the humble priest wrapped an arm around her to steady her when she started to sway forward. He looked up to see that Tres had put his weapons away, "Dietrich took Esther..." Abel sounded defeated.

* * *

Ryoko sat in what she presumed to be one of the Vatican's prison cells with a sullen expression on her face. _I save their pathetic lives and this is how they repay me_... She glanced down at the restraints that barely kept her in her seat.

Drained of most of her energy, Ryoko felt helpless and weak. Sighing loudly, the space pirate glanced down at her newly regenerated hand. _If that bastard hadn't shot me_, she tightened her fists and frowned at the thought of last night, _I would have_... Ryoko paused. _What would have I done?_ This question troubled her all morning. _Would I have killed him?_ When she believed that the answer was most likely yes, Ryoko shuddered at the thought.

She pushed the disturbing thoughts of her killing Abel out of her mind and began to mull over what the sadistic boy had told her. _Tenchi will be used for a greater purpose_… Ryoko clenched her fists in anger when she could mentally picture the smile on the boy's face as he said it. It made her sick to think of the way he was describing Tenchi – like he was a child's play toy.

"Ryoko?" She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that Abel had entered her cell to check up on her. "I didn't mean to scare you," the humble priest noticed her wide yellow eyes staring blankly at him for a moment.

Narrowing her eyes at Abel she growled at him to go away and leave her alone. "I thought you might want to change into new clothing," he was amazed that her ripped clothing still clung to her body after turning into a demon. "And that you might be hungry…"

Ryoko couldn't argue about her needing new clothes; even she thought what she was wearing was a bit to revealing for her tastes. "I'm not hungry," she lied without meeting his soft blue eyes.

"Ah," Abel took a seat next to the space pirate on the bench. "That's good because I'm not hungry either…" he was also lying.

The two sat in silence until Abel's stomach growled loudly, making him blush from the embarrassment. Shortly after, Ryoko's stomach growled louder than Abel's. "Well…we aren't very good liars, are we?" Abel pushed his glasses closer to his face and gave Ryoko a bright smile.

"W-would there happen to be any alcohol around here?" she was dying for some sake.


	5. This Is Only a Test

"Why would the bastards want Sister Esther and the space boy?" Leon placed his hands behind his head as he stood and stretched his body with a loud groan. He cocked an eyebrow at Abel.

Abel shrugged his shoulders in response. Based off his experience, Esther did not have any special powers. She could be quiet influential and stubborn in her beliefs at times, but that was it. The priest seemed to be always rescuing her from dangerous situations.

He turned his head and glanced outside the window to see Ryoko examining the rose bushes outside, which was a failed attempt to calm her nerves. "Ryoko said Dietrich was planning to use Tenchi for a greater purpose…" Abel knew that comment was replaying in the space pirate's head over and over – Dietrich had that effect on people.

Hugue brushed his perfect blond hair away from his eyes, "And what exactly can Tenchi be used for? What skills does the boy have?"

Again Abel shrugged, "We would have to ask her that." But the priest already knew he would have to be the one to ask her. She seemed to only trust him. He turned his head away from the window, "What did you three find out?"

"There have been rumors about the resurrection of the Rosenkreuz Orden," Leon grumbled under his breath. None of them liked the idea of this. "There have also been other rumors about Isaak…" he could see the blood drain from Abel's face. The convicted AX member briefly glanced down at the trinket hanging from his neck. "We tracked down a Methuselah with an extensive record against the Vatican and tried to make him talk-"

"It led us to even more rumors," interrupted Hugue. "Guderian…Susanna von Skorzeny…" he let his voice trail off when Abel began to frown. "They are all returning Father Nightroad-we need to tell Caterina..."

Abel turned away to look outside again, but this time to admire the beautiful rose garden Esther began growing before she became queen. The heavy lines etched on his forehead faded as he relaxed his facial features and let a long sigh out. "I will tell her myself," the humble priest could feel his heart grow heavy.

* * *

Ryoko paused to stare up at the stars hoping she would spot something familiar. To the space pirate's disappointment, all of the stars looked foreign. _No Jurai star system…How the hell am I supposed to get home if none of planets exist?_

She resumed floating back and forth in the courtyard. The space pirate hated it when she was having trouble sleeping.

It was obvious to Ryoko that the red-haired queen used to be part of the AX group at the Vatican after seeing everyone's determined looks to get her back from the vampire extremists. But she knew that Esther was most important to Abel; the emptiness in his blue eyes revealed his true feelings for her.

Ryoko was just as worried for Tenchi but she knew that stressing over what she did wrong wouldn't help the situation. The clumsy boy has been captured so many times Ryoko now thought of him as a damsel in distress and her as his shining knight in armor. She smiled faintly as she thought about the relieved expression on his face every time she came to his rescue. _I'll come save you Tenchi-don't you worry about that_.

A twig snapped to the far left. In a blink of an eye, Ryoko had her energy beam sword in her hands and pointed in the direction of the noise. She narrowed her yellow eyes at the intruder.

A young boy, dressed in a long white night gown stood before her shivering from head to toe. "P-p-p-lease don't h-h-urt m-me," he begged as he took one step back and his eyes were wide with fear.

The cyan-haired space pirate relaxed, this was the young pope Abel had told her about. She raised an eyebrow at the boy, "What are you doing up so late?" Ryoko made her sword disappear and she knelt down to be at his eye level.

Ryoko couldn't understand how a wimpy child like Alessandro XVIII became pope; the child nearly burst out into tears when he heard about Esther being abducted.

"I-I couldn't sleep," he whispered in a shaky voice. "I s-s-ometimes come out here to look at the stars when I can't sleep…" The young pope refused to make direct eye-contact with Ryoko as if he was still afraid she would kill him.

Ryoko smiled at him to ease his mind, "Yes this is a good spot to see the stars…"

* * *

Abel knocked on the door to Ryoko's new room carrying a tray full of hot tea and biscuits. He waited for several minutes of silence before he opened the door and poked his head inside. "Ryoko? I brought you some…snacks," he frowned when he realized that the room was empty. _Where did she go?_

The priest pocketed two biscuits and set the tea on Ryoko's nightstand. Going out on a hunch he headed towards the courtyard. He would go there from time to time to clear his mind by simply looking up at the twinkling stars in the pitch black sky.

Wondering around the courtyard, Abel finally spotted the space pirate sitting down on a stone bench with someone resting their head on her lap. He stopped for a moment. Ryoko was stroking Alessandro's hair softly, looking down at him with her yellow eyes and a soft smile present on her lips. For a brief second it appeared like Ryoko was content with the world.

She lifted her head to find Abel staring at her with fascination. He reminded her so much of Hotsuma, at least appearance-wise. At the same time he had Tenchi's clumsy and humble personality. Maybe that was why Ryoko let him be so close…to call her a friend.

He quietly approached her, hoping not to wake the sleeping pope. The priest made eye contact with her briefly to see her soft yellow eyes watching him with concern. "We are ordered to wait for now," he whispered.

The space pirate frowned, "Wait while that sick fuck is tormenting our friends?" she hissed quietly back. Ryoko opened her mouth to say more but stopped when she noticed how much her words had stung him.

"Abel-" Ryoko fell silent when a dark shadow was suddenly cast over them. Glancing up, she could no longer see the sparkling stars in the night sky– an unknown airship floated high above the Vatican City. "Is that one of yours?" she was carefully watching the priest's actions.

"No..." Abel slowly reached for his hidden pistol.

"I thought so," Ryoko sighed.

* * *

"Sir, we are in position above the Vatican," the vampire loosened his shirt collar as he awaited orders to be relayed from the communication device.

A smooth and pleasant voice flowed out of the speakers, "Good. I want you to take a few hits from the Iron Maiden first."

"Sir...?" the vampire glanced around at his companions on the airship to see their uneasy expressions. He glared at the three unfamiliar faces on his ship; the smile on the young man's face sent shivers down the vampire's spine.

"Better listen to him," Dietrich grinned while he twirled a piece of Esther's red hair in his fingers. Her eyes were dull and black as coal – she was his puppet now. "Are you ready to see your dear friends Esther?" he whispered sweetly in her ear.

Below the airship, the alarm in the Vatican had been sounded.

The pope immediately shot up from Ryoko's lap with all the color drained from his face. "W-what is going-on?" he looked up to Abel and Ryoko for guidance.

"We need to get his holiness to safety," the grey-haired priest yelled over the screeching sounds of the alarm. "The Iron Maiden will take care of the ship!" Abel barked at Ryoko when she was poised ready to attack.

Muttering under her breath, Ryoko grabbed the pope by the arm and followed Abel out of the courtyard. _It's Ayeka's job to protect everyone..._

Running back inside the Vatican, Ryoko realized that Alessandro wasn't going to be able to keep up with them. She grabbed his shirt collar and made him wrap his arms around her neck while they teleported to catch up to Abel. "Don't puke on me now," the space pirate growled after their first teleportation.

Swallowing loudly, Alessando nervously nodded and closed his eyes before Ryoko teleported again.

The Vatican was in a panicked-state. Priests and nuns were running around the hallways carrying whatever belongings they could get their hands on. AX members began directing the humans to the nearest escape routes.

"Alessando!" Caterina came rushing over to Ryoko and Abel. Relief flashed over her face as she took her younger brother from Ryoko's arms. "I'm so glad you are safe," she hugged him tightly.

"You must get out of here," Abel ushered the siblings toward Vaclav for protection.

"Abel-" Cardinal Caterina was about to argue with him but then noticed his determined and serious expression. "We can't find Gunslinger…"

"We'll meet you soon," he yelled to them as he signaled Ryoko to follow him down the hallway in the opposite direction. "We have to make sure everyone has evacuated the Vatican and find Father Tres," Abel picked up his speed.

* * *

The Iron Maiden, the only battleship for the Vatican, was finally within range of the enemy airship. "Take them down!" Kate ordered at the top of her lungs.

Three of the four shots fired struck the airship and caused moderate damage.

"Return their fire Dietrich," purred the smooth voice over the communication device.

Obeying, Dietrich invaded Esther's subconscious mind to activate the hidden power within her. Her dull, lifeless eyes started to glow blue once the star's power was awakened. "Play with them Esther…" the beautiful man whispered in a pleased voice, "Let's show them your true power."

Without warning, a large blue beam shot from the airship and struck the Iron Maiden.

"What the hell is that?" Sister Kate yelled as she assessed the damage done to her ship. "Fire back!"

Dietrich and Esther turned their attention to the Vatican City and began to fire. "Time to watch this city burn," chuckled Dietrich. A lone tear slid from the corner of Esther's eye.


	6. Partners

"We are still taking considerable damage!" cried the vampire in the control seat. "A few more hits like that and the ship will be gone sir!"

There was a pause for a moment. "Activate the terran's power then Dietrich," commanded the smooth voice.

Releasing Esther from his control, she collapsed to the floor unconscious. Placing his dainty, well-polished hand on Tenchi's shoulder, Dietrich delved deeply into Tenchi's mind to control him completely. "Let's try that little shield of yours at forty percent shall we?" he whispered softly into Tenchi's ear with a sick smirk on his lips.

* * *

"Abel watch out!" Ryoko reached out, snatched the priest's hand, and jerked him back before a crumbling pillar crushed him.

Once the dust had settled, Abel could see what would have become of him if Ryoko hadn't been watching his back. "Thanks…"

"Damage report Father Nightroad," called an emotionless voice from the other side of the ruble.

Abel sighed with relief, "I'm fine. Is there anyone else here in this part of the Vatican Father Tres?"

"Negative," Gunslinger leapt over the ruble with some trouble. It appeared that his right leg was crushed.

Ryoko let Abel examine Tres' damaged leg and peered out the window to see the battle raging above them.

Three clear blue blades formed at the front of the ship and slowly expanded to cover it entirely. "_Tenchi!_" Ryoko's yellow eyes widened when she recognized the light-hawk wings enveloping the front of the enemy airship.

Just as she was about to teleport up to the airship, Abel sprinted across the floor and tackled her right into the tiled ground. "It's a suicide mission going up there!" he hissed in her ear as she desperately tried to knock him off her back.

"Tenchi is up there and _he_ _needs my_-" the space pirate froze when Tres placed his pistol at the back of her head.

Tres wouldn't kill her but maybe this would be enough to stop her from doing something foolish. "Listen to me Ryoko! If Tenchi's powers are as strong as you say they are – the Iron Maiden will be no match. That means we have to get out of here before the whole city collapses on us." He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for Ryoko's reaction.

Tears formed in the corners of her yellow eyes when she had finally made her decision. "_Tenchi_…" Ryoko couldn't save him this time and it crushed her.

Suddenly the light-hawk wings disappeared from the enemy airship just as the Iron Maiden was preparing to fire. The Vatican airship started to shoot the now-vulnerable ship down.

_Oh no…no-no-_"NO! TENCHI!" Jamming her elbow into Abel's stomach, Ryoko stunned him just long enough to kick him off her and into Tres instead.

It was too late. Small explosions started at the back of the ship, progressing to a final major explosion in the front which would utterly destroy everything and everyone on the enemy airship.

_Tenchi…?_ Ryoko stood blankly watching the black and red sky. _Was that the end?_ _Is he really dead?_ It took a few seconds for the shock to fade and a different emotion to take its place.

"Ryoko we-have to go!" Abel awkwardly got up to his feet as he tried to catch his breath. "RYOKO!" he finally grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and forced her to look at him.

The priest fell silent when he looked into her eyes. The pain of Tenchi's death was obvious; tears were continuously falling from her empty eyes. Seeing her sorrow made Abel come to the realization that Esther was now gone too.

It took a piece of stone the size of a vehicle crashing several feet away from where they were standing to snap Abel out of his sorry state. He helped Tres back to his feet and quickly glanced around to find the nearest escape route when the ceiling above them began to cave in.

Several chunks of marble falling towards Abel and Tres were suddenly blasted into bits of dust. The priest glanced over to see Ryoko aiming balls of electricity at the marble chunks. Blasting each piece of the marble ceiling before it crushed them, she worked in complete silence. When every marble boulder was destroyed the cyan-haired space pirate grabbed Abel's hand and Tres' shoulder.

* * *

"If you look at the explosion in slow motion, you can see a smaller airship with the blue shield making an escape," Kate pointed out with her hologram finger at what she had discovered. "So it is safe to assume that Esther and Tenchi are still alive," she glanced back over to the AX members.

Since nearly one third of the Vatican City had been practically destroyed, the AX members retreated to the catacombs of the church. The pope and rest of the members of the Catholic Church had been successfully evacuated to several random safe houses outside of the city.

Abel could now relax his tense shoulders. _Thank God they are still alive_.

"Which direction were they headed to?" Caterina asked in a serious tone.

"To Byzantium I believe," Sister Kate responded.

Leon let out a long sigh, "We were just there!"

After the emergency meeting, Abel went to a deeper part of the catacombs to a dimly-lit room that smelled like stale death. He was relieved to find that Ryoko was sitting on the edge of a tomb alert and awake. She had collapsed after using all of her energy to help them escape from the crumbling city.

Studying him in silence, Ryoko finally took a bite of one of the biscuits he had left for her.

Abel opened his mouth to ask how she was feeling but decided against it. It was better to tell her the good news first. "Sister Kate discovered an escape pod leaving the airship before the final explosion and it was protected by a blue shield," he finally said. "We are going back to Byzantium tomorrow afternoon to find them. We're going to be partners on this."

It concerned him when he didn't see Ryoko emotionally respond to the news. She continued to sit in silence eating her biscuit.

"Did you hear me partner?" the humble priest asked quietly.

The word dug deep under Ryoko's skin. No one had called her that since Hotsuma. _Fuck why do you have to be so much like him_?

Abel noticed Ryoko clenching her fists at the word partner. "Did the biscuits help?" he tried to change the topic quickly, pretending he had not seen her uneasiness.

Staring into his light blue eyes, Ryoko sat in silence for a long time. She was at a fork in the road and she could either trust this priest whole-heartedly or always assume he is going to stab her in the back. Reaching into her pocket, she tossed Abel the second biscuit. "Better get your strength back up if you want to save our friends, _partner_," she smirked.


	7. Baiting the Prey

"STOP IT! STOP DIETRICH YOU ARE KILLING HIM!" Esther screamed at the top of her lungs as she helplessly watched the beautiful young man sending waves of pain through Tenchi's body.

"Someone has to teach him a lesson about obeying _all_ of my commands," Dietrich snarled back at the red-headed queen with a crazed look in his dark eyes. After listening to Tenchi yell and writhe in pain, the puppet master finally set him free.

Falling to his knees, Tenchi tried to catch his breath. Luckily, he had faced stronger opponents before – hence the reason for him breaking free of Dietrich's grasp when on the airship. When he had regained control of his own body the light hawk wings protecting the ship from the Iron Maiden's powerful blasts disappeared, leaving the ship vulnerable. All three of them barely made it out alive before the airship was blown up.

Esther rushed over to Tenchi's side and quickly checked him from head to toe to make sure none of the damage was permanent. Once she knew he would live, the redhead scowled at Dietrich for what he had done. "_You are a monster Dietrich_," she spat at him.

The puppet master momentarily stared blankly at her but then suddenly broke out into a hysteric laughter that sent chills down her spine. "Monster?" he giggled in a playful voice. "There are far worse monsters out in the world right now my dear Esther…like that Ryoko character. Now that is a _real monster_…" Dietrich paused to see if his comments would strike a nerve.

"Don't talk about Ryoko that way," Tenchi growled through clenched teeth.

"You seem to forget that I can read _all_ of your past memories-"

"SHUT UP!" Tenchi leapt to his feet to take a swing at the sick-minded young man.

Grabbing Tenchi's fist in mid-swing and slightly tilting his head to the side so the fist just brushed softly against his brown hair, Dietrich made a tisk-tisk sound. "If you disobey me like that again…" he violently twisted Tenchi's wrist backward until he heard a loud snap, "I'll kill her." He glanced over at Esther with a smirk on his perfectly thin lips. Releasing his grip, Dietrich abruptly turned his back to them and headed towards the metal door. "I only really need _one _of you…" he hummed in a pleasant voice as he shut the door behind him.

Esther was already ripping a sleeve off her dress to create a bandage for Tenchi's broken wrist. "Hopefully this will help," she whispered quietly as she solemnly began wrapping.

Tenchi grabbed her hands without warning; he stared emotionlessly into her soft eyes. "Our friends will find us, don't lose hope yet."

Nodding in agreement, Esther resumed mending his wrist. "So tell me more about Ryoko," she asked in a sweet voice.

* * *

"Hey slow down!" Abel complained as he puffed for air behind the space pirate.

Teleporting from the roof of a Byzantium sweet shop back to the street, Ryoko smugly folded her arms across her chest. "How do you expect to find any clues at this _snail's pace_?" she leaned forward and cocked a questionable eyebrow in his direction.

"Haven't you ever heard the saying that the slow and steady win the race?" Abel muttered in a sour voice. His stomach began to growl loudly. "Great, now I'm hungry…"

Letting a long sigh out, Ryoko floated over to the lazy priest and grabbed his wrist. "Come on then, we'll stop for lunch." She began to lift him off the ground, which sent Abel into a panic.

"What are you doing? I can't fly!" he started to fail his arms around like a child throwing a tantrum but Ryoko chose to ignore him.

Within a few minutes, Ryoko and Abel were enjoying sandwiches on the rooftop of the sweet shop. The priest chose to turn a blind eye on how she "conjured" the sandwiches since the Vatican had forgotten to provide him with enough coins to feed them both.

The space pirate relaxed her shoulders as she let her feet dangle off the edge of the roof. Abel, on the other hand, was sitting dead center on the rooftop holding his sandwich in one hand and gripping for dear life with the other.

"You like high places do you?" the priest nervously asked.

Ryoko sighed with a faint smile on her lips as she enjoyed the view of the city, "No. I sit on Tenchi's roof when I need to think…" _Or when Tenchi breaks my heart. _ She turned away from the view to give him a soft smile, "Usually it is just me, but it is nice to have some company for once."

Quickly, Abel hid his blushing face in response to her sweet smile by turning his face away to gobble the last few bites of his sandwich. He nearly choked on his lunch when he heard his name being screeched directly into his eardrum.

"Father Nightroad." It was Hugue's voice resonating from the earpiece lodge awkwardly in Abel's right ear. "There is recent activity coming from this city's underground water pipes…I don't know exactly what sort of activity but it is worth checking out according to Sister Kate. You are the closest-"

"So you want us to check out the water pipes until you can make your way over here?" Abel was finally able to say once successfully swallowing his sandwich in one loud gulp. He pushed his glasses closer to his face as he glanced over to Ryoko – she was listening carefully. "Alright, fine we will go…" the priest let out a long sigh.

* * *

Grumbling and complaining under his breath, Abel trudged through the slimy water and glared at Ryoko as she simply floated by him. "Come on slow poke," she teased with a grin stretched from ear to ear.

As they ventured further down the pipe, the darker it grew. Soon the two could barely see their hands in front of their face.

Abel took a whiff of the stale air and had to cover his nose with his sleeve, _Smells like rotting eggs down here_…

"Shit, I can't see a thing…time to create some electricity and light this place up," Ryoko drew her hands close to her chest to conjure energy.

The priest suddenly put two and two together, "Sulfur!" He blindly stumbled forward and rammed into Ryoko to stop her from killing them both. He grabbed one of her hands tightly, "You'll burn us if you use your energy in here!"

Ryoko snorted in response. She could finally smell it too. "Sulfur isn't normal in water pipes in your world – is it?" she twisted her hand away from Abel and gave him a dirty look in the blackness. She couldn't help but think that they were walking straight into a trap.

"No…" the clumsy priest took a step back from her. Even though it was pitch black, Abel could sense the space pirate's uneasiness. He glanced ahead of them to catch a glimpse of a dim light. "It looks like we are almost to the end of the pipe though," he started to point but then remembered that she wouldn't be able to see it.

They continued towards the dim light for what seemed like ages until the light increased in brightness and grew in size. Before they reached the edge of the pipe, Ryoko told Abel to remain in the shadows while she peered over to see what was below.

Her ears twitched when she heard two voices – both male. Inching her way towards the ledge, Ryoko's heart skipped a beat when she heard a familiar voice.

"Let me go you bastard!" Tenchi yelled at the top of his lungs to an older man Ryoko had never seen before.

The man stood over six feet tall with long, flowing black hair. He wore dark clothing that looked like they belonged to a noble man. When Tenchi started to yell again, the man quickly pulled out a syringe from his jacket pocket and injected his prisoner in the neck. In a matter of seconds, Tenchi was on his side unconscious.

Without warning, the man glanced up to the water pipes draining into the large underground pool. A thin calculating smile spread across his pale face, revealing fangs, as he caught sight of Ryoko. "Looks like we have a guest…care to join us Ryoko?"

"Ryoko wait!" Abel reached out to stop her from doing something stupid but he was too late.

Teleporting down from the pipe to the crumbling stone platform in the center of the underground room, Ryoko conjured her energy sword beam in a blink of an eye. The water pipes emptied into this one room – which seemed to be a ruined ancient city that Byzantium had built itself over. Six worn stone pillars spread around the pool were the only things supported the ceiling.

"Impressive…" the vampire seemed to genuinely admire her abilities. "You seem much more capable of taking care of yourself than this little runt," he took pleasure in seeing Ryoko's yellow eyes narrow to slits.

"If you don't give Tenchi back to me, you'll be sorry you ever laid eyes on him," she tried to keep a steady voice as her rage silently rose.

_How am I going to get down?_ Abel meekly peered over the edge of the water pipe and nearly had a heart attack when he gauged the drop to be well over ten feet. _I can't jump..._

"I don't plan on giving him back to you," the vampire examined a button on his sleeve like he was already bored with the conversation. "However, I do plan on adding _you_ to my _collection_…" his fangs reflected the light momentarily.

_What is it with these guys wanting Tenchi and me like we are some lost child's toys? _The space pirate shot a glance at the man she loved and could feel her heart swell. _He is still alive at least_. She glared at the vampire, "I'm guessing you are working for Dietrich?"

He laughed, "I'm more like the _one in charge_ of this little operation." The vampire took a graceful bow before her, "I am Isaak Fernand von Kampfer, leader of the Rosenkreuz Orden."

_Well now I know what name to have Abel scratched onto this bastard's tombstone once I am through with him. _"Alright _fuck-face_, enough with the pleasantries," Ryoko snarled. "I have to bring Tenchi back home with me in time for dinner," she ran at him with her energy beam raised.

Isaak quickly projected an electromagnetic wall around his body, which blocked the space pirate's energy sword and sent her flying back. "Not until I get to see your true potential," he let the shield drop.

Meanwhile Abel was desperately trying to find a way down to the battle below. He couldn't tell how deep the pool was from the height he was at. If he jumped and guessed the depth of the water then he would break quite a few bones in his body – including his neck. _Please God don't let me die_. He silently whispered a prayer as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

_Shit this vampire's shield is just as fucking annoying as Ayeka's_. Ryoko glanced quickly around the area to find anything that would give her the advantage and to check on Abel. She caught a glimpse of him sweating up a storm trying to be courageous enough to jump.

While Ryoko was busy checking up on Abel, she had failed to notice that Isaak was producing a massive sphere of light between his hands. "Let's see how you like this!" he shot the ball of light towards her. As it flew towards her, the light started to shoot multiple energy bolts around her.

The first bolt shot Ryoko's right thigh but she was quick to evade the others. She retreated to the edge of the stone platform and debated about her last move. _I need a distraction in order to pull this off in time_… "ABEL NOW!" Ryoko shouted at the top of her lungs.

_Please God…_ Abel took a leap of faith, pulling out both of his pistols and aiming at the vampire as best as he could. The vampire recoiled from the gunfire, surprised that Abel was actually with Ryoko, and protected himself with his shield.

Kneeing down and slamming her palms into the water, the space pirate concentrated all of her energy into the pool. _Obey your master!_

Emerging from the depths of the pool was a four-eyed water demon that stood over twelve feet tall. It looked towards Ryoko for guidance. For once she had summoned a demon that she could control completely.

Abel slammed hard into the pool of water and could feel the air being pushed from his lungs. He clenched his eyes tight hoping that it was deep enough. The waves caused by both the elemental demon and the priest's fall splashed onto the platform and wet Ryoko's feet and ankles.

She stared at Tenchi's limp body at the other end of the stone platform behind Isaak. Isaak's lower legs were also drenched with water but Tenchi was dry as a bone – which wasn't plausible unless…

"It's a hologram," she hissed in a disappointed tone of voice. "You fucking bastard…"

Isaak clapped from behind his protective shield, "Clever. You knew that he was a hologram, didn't you?" He continued to keep his electromagnetic wall up…just in case she had any more surprises left for him.

"_Tell me where he is_…"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Isaak chuckled to himself like this was all a game to him.

She tightened her hands into fists. "_If you hurt him…I swear_…" Ryoko drew in a deep breath before she produced her energy beam sword. _You know what to do demon! _Both she and the water demon attacked the vampire with all of their power.

Opening his eyes while still underwater, Abel realized that he was still alive. Quickly letting a few air bubbles escape from his lungs; he kicked his legs hard and swam to the surface. Gasping for air at the surface, Abel watched the two raging war against each other ahead of him. _This is bad_; he had to find a way to Ryoko before it was too late.

"Your Tenchi is a valuable prize though, I must admit…" Isaak teased Ryoko from a safe distance. "The wings he is able to produce-" he narrowly missed a swipe from Ryoko's energy sword, "-are most extraordinary." Within seconds Ryoko's water demon slammed through one of the stone pillars with its fists to get closer to the vampire. "No wonder you don't want anyone to have him."

Her eyes flushed to the color of blood, "He is not some sort of TOY!" Ryoko transported multiple times while the sadistic vampire continued to elude all of her and her demon's attacks. The demon continued to smash through two more stone pillars in failed attempts to kill the vampire mastermind.

"But your demon-calling ability is also an amazing feat to behold," Isaak commented with a sly look on his pale face. "Too bad you are at your weakest after you summon one…" he made a metal blade appear out of his wrist sleeve. "I didn't want to kill you but you leave me no choice."

Ryoko laughed, "It doesn't matter…we'll all die anyways…" she lowered her energy sword with a triumphant look in her now yellow eyes.

The ground began to shake like an earthquake was happening. "What's going on?" Isaak glanced around to see that the underground waterway was caving in. Stones from the ceiling had started to come crumbling down on them. He snarled at Ryoko when he had finally realized what she had done. "_Clever_…" The water demon had shattered three of the six pillars supporting the underground waterway.

Before Ryoko could make another attempt to kill Tenchi's kidnapper, he shot another sphere of light at her and made an escape by retreating into a secret passageway in the ruined city. _Shit_, she nearly had him.

"Ryoko!" the priest had finally pulled himself out of the water and was on the stone platform, "We need to get out of here!" Abel reached out to grab her hand but everything went black for him.

* * *

Abel slowly opened his eyes to see a familiar face smiling at him, "I'm glad you are finally awake. You took a nasty blow to the head."

Sitting up straight, Abel touched the side of his head to feel a bandage. "Your eminence," the humble priest bowed his head as much as he could to the young blonde vampire, "It is good to see you again…"

"Yes, it has been quite a while, hasn't it?" Ion Fortuna gave the priest a toothy grin.

Glancing around the room, Abel realized that he was in the duke's personal chambers. "I'm sorry to pry…but how did I end up here?"

The duke folded his arms across his chest, "My cousin alerted me last night that someone was trying to steal a royal airship and that this person was carrying a silver-haired Vatican priest… I sent my guards and they brought back you – unconscious of course – and a loud-mouth vampire. Since you seemed injured, I didn't want to take the chance assuming that she was a friend. She put up a pretty good fight though…she didn't want to let you go."

"Where is she now?" Abel asked in a worried tone of voice. He was touched by the thought that Ryoko was protecting him.

"In a prison cell," the duke muttered. "I'll take you to her if you would like…"

As they walked down the stone steps, Abel could hear Ryoko's voice off in the distance. "You just wait and see vampire. Once I get my strength back, I'll kill you all and get him back…" Her metal chains rattled on the floor as Ryoko rushed the cell door when the young vampire stood in front of her. "Listen here you little brat – if you remove a single silver hair from his head, I'll make sure it's the last mistake you ever-" her yellow eyes widened with horror when she noticed Abel standing off to the side of the vampire.

"No need to worry Ryoko, all is well," Abel chirped in a happy voice.

"Well obviously not! Why the fuck am I locked up like some _prisoner_?" she yelled at the top of her lungs, making the clumsy priest grimace.

"Ryoko, now there is no need for that kind of language!" he scorned her by waving one finger at her from the other side of the cell.

Her eyes went blood red, "This is the thanks I get for saving your pathetic hide? Get me the _fuck_ out of here Abel Nightroad!"

Abel nervously glanced over at the duke, "It may not look like it…but she _is_ a friend…"

* * *

**Notes: **Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I've gotten quite a few messages to keep this going. Don't worry, I will update the rest of the chapters to it slowly. Vet school has been eating up my free time lately. ~ Hunter 


	8. Let's Kill Tonight

"Are you getting any closer to finding them?" Ayeka huffed and threw her hands in air out of building frustration.

"Hey-" Washu poked her head above the dimensional cube that had sucked Ryoko and Tenchi up almost three days ago. "You can't rush a genius!"

Ayeka narrowed her eyes at the pink-haired scientist, "A _real genius_ wouldn't have such a huge junk pile of _failed_ experiments…" she muttered under her breath.

Washu's head stood up with a dark scowl on her face, "Care to say that to my face princess?"

"You guys, this arguing is getting really old," Mihoshi sighed pathetically as she poked the dimensional cube with her index finger. "It really doesn't accomplish anything," the dumb blonde mused.

The princess and scientist sighed in agreement. It had been three grueling days since Ryoko and Tenchi disappeared to another dimension. Washu was worried that she may never be able to retrieve them because she couldn't even trace Ryoko's insane energy signals. Ayeka, however, was continuously worrying that Ryoko was placing her dirty thieving hands all over Tenchi.

"Let's get some dinner and sleep. I'll try it again tomorrow…" Washu stretched her arms high above her head and ushered the girls out of her lab to the kitchen.

* * *

Abel glanced out the window in the empty palace hallway as he let out a heavy sigh. The stars were bright out tonight but no falling stars. He could see the warm lights of the city from the duke's palace. It was pleasing to finally see the city of Byzantium had rebuilt itself to its former glory. He closed his eyes to smell the sweet scent of baking pastries and hot tea in the cold night air.

The priest wasn't able to enjoy the peaceful moment long, his thoughts began to linger back to the task at hand. He tugged at his tight neck collar; he despised wearing formal clothes that involved neck ties. Off in the distance he could hear the guests arriving for the vampire dinner party that Ion Fortuna was required to host each year as part of nobility duties.

It was a perfect opportunity for some of the vampire extremists or the Rosenkreuz Orden to rear their ugly faces. The plan was to capture any of the extremists that showed up at the party and find out where the orden was keeping Esther and Tenchi.

There was no question that the party would be interrupted, but at what cost? According to Ion there would be over two hundred dinner guests tonight at the palace.

Abel sighed again as he rubbed his forehead, "I am getting so tired of this…"

"That is what you get for playing hero in this chaotic world of yours," whispered a soft voice by the humble priest's right ear.

A small smile stretched across his pale face. "Your world isn't as chaotic?" he could feel Ryoko's hot breath on the back of his neck. Normally, he would have jumped out of his skin with someone sneaking up on him but he was now used to the space pirate's random teleportation skills. Abel continued to stare out the window.

Ryoko chuckled to herself, "I'd like to think so, but in reality it is usually me who makes the world chaotic. Comes with the space pirate job description," she moved to his side and observed the scenes outside the palace walls.

For a brief moment, Abel caught a glimpse of Ryoko out of the corner of his eye. He nearly choked at the sight. "Is-is that…makeup?" he gasped out without realizing that he was speaking aloud.

The cyan-haired pirate narrowed her yellow eyes into tiny slits when she thought he was about to make fun of her how she was dressed. Her hair was pulled back into a spiky pony-tail to reveal dangling ruby red earrings and her slender neck. Remembering all of the advice from those girly magazines Ayeka and Mihoshi enjoyed reading, Ryoko tried to keep her makeup simple to just red lipstick, dark eye shadow, and little bit of blush. She had to borrow a long, black dress from one of Ion's cousins.

"Hey-" Ryoko growled in a rough voice and clenched a fist at him, "Just because I'm in heels doesn't mean that I can't kick your ass up and down this hallway!"

Abel could tell that he had hurt her feelings. He gave her a soft, warm smile to reassure that he wasn't about to laugh at her. "I was just expecting you to hate this formal dinner party just as much as I do," he explained. "Looks like you have been to a few before…"

Ryoko's shoulders relaxed, "This is my first," she admitted in a tiny voice. The space pirate examined her clenched fist before lowering her arm, "I went on a date once with Tenchi. I was so nervous that I spent hours reading those stupid Earth girly magazines about what to do, how to act, what to wear, and blah, blah, blah. I even learned how to dance…"

"Was it worth it?" Abel pushed his glasses closer to his face and gave her a quizzical look.

"In hindsight…not really," she admitted honestly. She could still remember Tenchi's betrayal and how deeply it had cut her when he was in Tokyo for school. Without realizing it, Ryoko was frowning at her bitter memories.

The priest began to laugh to himself.

"What's so funny now?" she snapped.

"That you would try so hard to change yourself when you are perfect _exactly _the way you are," he winked to her slyly. "If Tenchi can't love you for the amazing demon-woman that you are, then he is an ass."

Ryoko punched his shoulder softly and ignored his fake cry of pain. "Thanks," she grinned at the Vatican priest. "We should probably head downstairs and meet up with your _friends_," she abruptly leaned close to his face without any warning.

Gingerly reaching out, she began to tug and fix the black silk tie Abel had nearly ripped off in order to breath properly. Her warm breath made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Once she finished fixing his tie, Ryoko took his pale hand in hers for a moment. "Thank you Abel…for everything." She released his hand and headed down the hallway, "Don't be too slow. You know how Tres likes to be _punctual_…"

Silently, Abel watched her disappear from the hallway. He was trying to swallow. It was as if he was drenched in frigid water and was still waiting to catch his breath. In the back of his mind he recalled the same description Ion had described to him when the young noble met Esther.

_Shit_… the priest found himself brushing his fingers against his neck tie, _I'm in love_.

* * *

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious," Gunslinger ordered the AX members in a monotone voice. "Alert everyone immediately."

Father Hugue grumbled under his breath. He was in a sour mood because the rest of the AX members could keep their pistols concealed under their dinner jackets while he had to leave his sword in his room.

"Ah don't worry about your _stick_," Leon teased as he reached behind Hugue's back to snatch a cocktail snack from a silver tray held by a passing waitress. "You should enjoy yourself for once," he said with a mouth-full, "All the pretty girls here…"

"They are all Methuselahs," he snorted in disgust at the thought.

Abel began to drool when he caught the scent of shrimp and crab cakes nearby. While Leon and Hugue argued back and forth, the silver-haired priest snuck his way over the food to fill his growling belly.

Ryoko was about to follow him when Father Tres caught her sharply by the arm and whispered into her ear. "I have _strict _orders to _shoot you_ if you decide to take matters into your own hands again and transform into your demon form," he narrowed his eyes at her. "I will not _miss _this time for Father Nightroad's sake," he warned.

Glaring at the droid with her yellow eyes, the space pirate tugged her arm away from him. She strolled over to Abel at the snack table with a straight face until he turned around to reveal six shrimp tails hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Ryoko snorted a laugh at the sight.

Once his belly was full, the humble priest ears perked when he heard the music begin. He glanced over at Ryoko, who was pouring herself a third glass of wine, and could feel this throat tighten again. Taking a deep breath, Abel asked if Ryoko wanted to dance. His voice was so weak that Ryoko did not hear him; she just continued to sip on her wine.

Clearing his voice loudly, Abel stood in front of the space pirate and pro-offered his hand to her. "Would you honor me with a dance?" he smiled nervously when Ryoko stared at him blankly for a moment.

Finally realizing what he wanted, Ryoko put her goblet down and took his hand. Leading her to the dance floor, Abel's hands began to shake when it dawned on him that he didn't know how to dance…at all.

Ryoko smirked as she placed his free hand on her hip and instructed him to follow her lead. "Didn't think this all the way through did you?" she giggled at his reddened cheeks.

He kept smiling nervously at her as she talked to him about the vampires around them. Her voice sounded like a soft melody as Abel fondly watched how her earrings dangled when they twirled on the dance floor.

"Abel?" Ryoko tilted her head curiously to one side. He thought she looked beautiful tonight. "You are still blushing…did you have too much to drink?"

The priest shook his head, snapping back into reality. "You look r-radiant," he finally admitted quietly.

Ryoko narrowed her yellow eyes slightly at him, "You did have too much to drink. You are speaking nonsense. I'll go-"

Abel tightened his grip on her hand so she couldn't move away; his eyes asked her to stay.

Ryoko caught a glimpse of something dark quickly shifting through the crowd and moving towards them. By the time she realized what it was, the space pirate only had enough time to grab Abel by the collar and yank him to the ground.

The Death Hunter's blade struck nothing but air; it snarled at them from underneath its mask.  
The Methuselahs immediately vacated the dance floor and began evacuating the palace in one giant mob scene. Both Leon and Hugue were fighting against the crowd but were slowly being pushed backwards. As the palace emptied, more Death Hunters slinked out from their hiding spots in the shadows.

"Abel get up!" Ryoko hissed when he was still lying on the floor. She once again snatched him by his neck collar and lifted him from the ground. Acting like he was made of jelly, Abel fell forward and face planted into Ryoko's large chest. "You're hopeless!"

Sensing that the stunned priest was the weaker of the two, the Death Hunter decided to take another swipe at Abel, who was still semi-unconsciously drooling on Ryoko's dress.

Grumbling under her breath the entire time, the space pirate reached under Abel's jacket and narrowly blocked the direction of the blade with the handle of one of Abel's pistols. While the creature was knocked off balance, Ryoko smacked it across the face with the pistol. Its mask clanked across the dance floor.

Ryoko winced when she saw what was underneath the mask. Flesh had been ripped from bone and was replaced with wires, bolts, and pieces of string. Most likely a creation specifically made by Deitrich. The only thing left untouched was a rotting white eyeball that looked like it was ready to fall from the eye socket.

The monster quickly recovered and snapped it jaws at them in anger. It raised its sword once more to strike but Ryoko shot the Death Hunter point-blank between the eyes. "Never bring a sword to a gun show," she muttered frankly. Without thinking twice about it, she squashed the decayed eyeball under her heel.

She glanced down at Abel to see his cheeks blushing bright red, "You could remove yourself and make yourself useful if you are done being an embarrassed school boy!" Abel stood straight immediately.

Ryoko flipped around to shoot a second Death Hunter that was slowly creeping upon them. She tossed over her shoulder the priest's second pistol.

"Thanks for saving my hide," Abel tore his neck tie off. He now at least had an excuse to no longer be uncomfortable. "And you thought this party was going to be dull," the priest winked to his partner playfully.

Rolling her eyes, the space pirate knocked the closest Death Hunter backwards with a powerful right hook. "I'm starting to regret hanging out with you…"

"Abel help!" squeaked a tiny voice from the opposite end of the ballroom. Ion Fortuna desperately tried to wrestle away from a Death Hunter holding him hostage. He bit the creature on the arm, but the undead vampire did not even flinch. The vampire noble's cries were muffled as the Death Hunter dragged him away into a nearby hallway.

Glancing back at Abel and assessing the situation, she told him to go rescue Ion. "I'll cover you," Ryoko narrowed her yellow eyes at him. "Get your ass moving!"

Abel elbowed a Death Hunter in his path and then promptly shot it with the barrel of the gun under its jaw. Clumsily dodging attacks, Abel noticed out of the corner of his silver eyes that Ryoko was creating a ball of energy between the palms of her hands. Once he was out of harm's reach, she released electricity which sent all of the Death Hunters around her onto their backs stunned.

_That should have killed most of them_, Abel stopped in his tracks when it dawned on him what was wrong. _She still hasn't recovered all of her energy yet…_

"Get the fuck out of here Abel! I'll be fine," she yelled. _I hope…_

Before heading down the hallway, Father Nightroad glanced back at Ryoko to see her kicking a stunned Death Hunter in the chest. When she lifted her head to see if he had left, he was already gone.

* * *

"Status report," Tres shouted to Hugue and Leon over the crowd of vampires evacuating the castle into an underground escape route.

Leon scratched the top of his head, "I'm guessing everyone is here…?" he had lost track a long time ago.

"Father Nightroad and Ryoko were still in the ballroom," Hugue paused to usher the group of young female vampires that were romantically interested in him away from his body to the secret passageway. "I haven't seen them exit yet," he called back.

The droid AX member heard a voice ringing in his ear; from all the panting it sounded like it was Abel. "Death Hunters-have kidnapped Ion-" it sounded like the priest had tripped. "I'm-I'm chasing after him," a gun was fired, "You have to help Ryoko. The ballroom is covered with them-STOP!" A second shot was fired and the transmission ended.


	9. Angel of Death

_Almost there_… The silver-haired priest closed one eye as he aimed his pistol at the Death Hunter running down the corridor with Ion Fortuna in its undead claws. Praying for God to guide his bullet, Abel pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed in the passageway; within seconds the Death Hunter collapsed to the ground and Ion struggled to crawl away. Black blood spilled on the floor and covered the noble vampire's pants and shoes. He was upset but otherwise was unharmed.

Abel examined the bullet hole in the neck of the Death Hunter; he had nicked the major artery. Not taking any second chances, the priest fired a second shot in the back of the creature's skull. The Death Hunter's body twitched and then nothing happened.

"Great shot," Ion sounded relieved as he rubbed his scrapped shoulder. "I didn't think-" he fell silent when Abel raised his hand.

Kneeling closer to the bloodied corpse, Abel could hear a faint voice being transmitted through its chest. "We-what-wanted," he did not recognize the voice at all. Flipping the Death Hunter onto its back, he could hear the voice more clearly.

"Time to retreat with the prize." _Prize? Oh no…it was Ryoko – not Ion, _Abel bit his lip in frustration.

"Destroy that stupid priest and his little friend."

Suddenly the Death Hunter's chest lit up with a red glow. _Not this again_, Abel knew instantly that a bomb strapped to the creature's chest was counting down. "We have to get out of here!" The clumsy AX member grabbed Ion and they rushed back down the hallway towards the ballroom.

"Tres! They want Ryoko!" Abel yelled into his communication device before the clock on the Death Hunter's chest reached zero.

* * *

The ground quaked from an explosion. Ryoko stared wide-eyed at the hallway Abel had disappeared through to rescue his noble vampire friend; it was now filled with rubble. _Abel_… she could feel her lower lip quiver.

The remaining Death Hunters began to circle her. Ryoko quickly recovered, turning her fear into anger. She conjured a ball of electricity and turned on the closest Death Hunter. Narrowing her yellow eyes at the living corpse, she coolly calculated her attack strategy.

"_Come on_!" Ryoko yelled at she charged at full speed. Leaping high into the air, the space pirate came down on the Death Hunter slamming the electric ball in its face. When her feet hit the ground, the body collapsed in front of her with just a stump for a head.

Ryoko swayed as she stood to admire her handy work. _Not now…not yet. _She was starting to feel light-headed and weak. In a last desperate attempt to keep the creatures away, the space pirate swung her energy sword madly. Her legs began to buckle. _Please not yet_, she looked back at the rubble-filled hallway; hoping Abel would come and save her. Her knees hit the ground and the energy sword vanished from her hands.

Father Tres kicked the ballroom doors off the hinges and ran into the room with gun blazing. Within seconds the Death Hunters surrounding Ryoko were lying dead on the floor. He kicked a bloodied corpse out of the way as he went to her side.

"You could have shown up a little sooner," Ryoko panted as she looked up at the droid. She was out of energy but was otherwise alright.

"I like my entrances to be dramatic," Gunslinger said in an emotionless tone. He placed one of his pistols back in its holster and offered his free hand to her. "Or that's what I have been told."

"_Foolish Vatican SCUM!_" hissed a dark voice behind them. Stepping into the light, a tall and slender vampire bared his fangs at Tres. He gracefully removed his black top hat to reveal his pale face and his short, spiky white hair; his beauty was only second to Deitrich. His gloved hand reached for a leather whip attached to his belt and tightened his grip on the handle.

"Who is this?" Ryoko whispered to Tres but he did not respond. She watched his shoulders tense up, preparing for a fight.

In a matter of seconds Tres raised his gun to shoot, but the vampire had lightning-fast reflexes with the whip and knocked the pistol out of Tres' hand and across the room. The vampire started laughing hysterically. "You destroyed Deitrich's pets…" he glanced around at all the carnage, "but you won't destroy mine." Cracking the whip in the air, the vampire summoned two hell hounds to his side.

Blood dripped from the fleshless skulls of the hounds as they growled and snarled at Tres and Ryoko. With a simple snap of the fingers from their master, the hellish beasts leapt into action.

Putting himself between Ryoko and the hell hounds, Father Tres pulled out his remaining pistol and fired at their skulls. To his amazement, the bullets were easily deflected off. In a last attempt to defend himself, Tres raised his arm to block one of the beast's attack.

Knocked onto his back, Gunslinger tried to wrestle his arm free from the hell hound's bloody jaws. It was too late; the hell hound tightened its jaws and crushed his robotic arm into two pieces. With a loud grunt, Gunslinger raised his leg and continually kicked the beast in the chest to no avail. The second hound stomped down hard onto his legs; the weight from the beast bent the metal alloy until his lower limbs were rendered useless.

Quickly climbing to her feet, Ryoko rammed the hell hound with full force to get it off the priest's body. "Leave my friend the fuck alone," she growled through clenched teeth. She gulped when both hell hounds decided to turn on her instead.

Tres started to crawl towards his gun with one arm and two crushed legs. Hearing the metal scratch the stone floor as the droid moved at a snail's pace, the hounds decided to finish him off first.

"Oh no you don't!" Ryoko ran after both hounds and grabbed one by the spiked tail. Using whatever strength she had left, the space pirate dragged and slammed the hound into its mate. She could hear their master laughing at her failing strength from afar.

Panting loudly, Ryoko hunched over to catch her breath. She lifted her head to find the drooling jaws of one of the hound's just inches from her face. Without thinking about the consequences, she jabbed the beast in the eye as hard as she could.

"_Son of a bitch_," pain shot up Ryoko's arm. Looking down at her hand, she realized that it was broken and now useless.

Snarling and snapping their jaws, the hounds ushered Ryoko backwards until she was only a few feet from where their master was standing. "Tougher than those pathetic puppet corpses, eh?" the vampire snickered before he cracked the whip.

Meanwhile, the stone rubble shifted from the collapsed hallway. Large, eloquent, black feathered wings emerged from the debris. Shaking the dust off his body, Abel – who had activated his Crusnik form – folded his wings behind his back. His glowing red eyes focused on the young vampire kneeling by his feet; Ion nodded to Abel to go ahead.

Acting as the hand of God, the Crusnik summoned his dark red scythe in his pale hands. A low growl came from his throat as he focused on the hounds snapping dangerously close at Ryoko.

"Call off your hounds and retreat to whatever _hole_ you came from," Abel warned in a dark voice.

A wide grin quickly spread across the vampire's thin lips, "Or what?" He placed his top hat neatly on his head, "From what I hear, you made a pact with God to never kill again." The vampire tightened his grip around the handle of his whip, just waiting for the Crusnik to make his move. "You don't want to make your Lord angry, do you?" he teased.

Ryoko stared at Abel wide-eyed. The humble priest had transformed into a powerful being, something with fangs and wings. If the space pirate was to believe in God, then she was witnessing His Angel of Death.

"Strip this _angel's_ wings," the vampire snapped at his hounds to attack.

Still shocked at her friend's appearance, Ryoko didn't notice the vampire approach her from behind until it was too late. He wrapped his whip tight around her neck and dragged her towards the exit. "Don't worry," he whispered in her ear as she struggled for air, "I won't kill you. My master has _wonderful_ plans for you my beauty-"

A bullet whizzed by the vampire's face and knocked his top hat to the ground. The vampire hissed bitterly at the shooter.

Tres had finally crawled to his pistol and was very shakily aiming his second shot at the hound master's forehead. "Six inches off target," he said as he adjusted his aim slightly. He pulled the trigger.

The vampire laughed shrilly when nothing happened. "_Aww_, the tin man ran out of bullets…" he grabbed Ryoko by the hair when she struggled against his grip.

"_He'll-kill you_," Ryoko could barely raise her voice to make the threat.

"_Hush _my pet," he licked her cheek as he yanked her into the shadows with him.

"NIGHTROAD!" Tres yelled at his AX partner.

Tearing a hound from his shoulder, Abel swiftly sliced the beast in half with his black scythe. He grabbed the other by the scruff of its neck and slammed its skull into the ground until it was stunned. Raising his scythe high, the Crusnik decapitated the second beast.

"He took her…" the damaged droid watched blood drip from Abel's wounded shoulder.

"I will come back for you," Abel growled. His hardened eyes glowed crimson before he followed after Ryoko and the psychotic vampire.

* * *

Back at the Vatican's secret headquarters, tortured cries echoed through the walls. The hound master had been successfully captured alive – minus one limb. The AX members were slowly extracting information from the vampire with the whereabouts of the queen and Tenchi.

Ryoko poked her head into Wordsworth's experiment room to check how Tres' repairs were coming along. She brushed her fingertips against the new metal legs on the professor's working table as she walked in. "You need to work on your aim," the space pirate scorned playfully at the droid as his new arm was tightened in its socket.

"I like your new look," Gunslinger teased back about her black eye, "You look much tougher now." He glanced over at Wordsworth and asked for a private moment with Ryoko.

Tres rotated his shoulder and flexed his new arm until he felt like no one was listening in on them. "I just wanted to say thank you," he mumbled the last few words.

The space pirate raised a questionable eyebrow at him, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last bit." She started to grin when Tres repeated himself but a little louder this time.

Abruptly, Gunslinger held out his hand. "I propose a mutual partnership," he stared blankly at her.

Ryoko frowned for a moment as she thought about what he actually wanted. "You want to be friends?"

"Affirmative."

They shook hands, metal with flesh, and the friendship was confirmed.

Before Ryoko left, Tres called out to her. "Inform Father Nightroad that he has to present his findings to the Vatican officials tomorrow morning. Make sure he doesn't sleep in again," he added dryly.

* * *

Abel opened his eyes to see Ryoko sitting by the edge of his bed - still wearing the dress from the dinner party. He watched her yellow eyes shine in the darkness of the room; she appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, she lifted her head and smiled sweetly at him, "I'm glad you are safe." In the moonlight he could see her right eye was bruised.

The priest cracked a small smile back at her as well, "Not going to chew me out this time?" He stretched his arms above his head and realized that his right shoulder and chest was tightly bandaged. When Ryoko shook her head in response, Abel chuckled to himself. "Not even a little profanity? Just for old time's sake?"

He wondered why she was acting so quiet and calm. The last time he was hurt, Ryoko had nearly torn two of Ion's guards apart trying to keep him safe. Now, here she was sitting tranquilly not raising her voice or slapping him around for endangering himself earlier.

The next logical thought process then was that she was afraid of him. _But then why is smiling at me like that?_Abel asked himself. He scratched the feeling of fear off his list of why Ryoko was acting so strange.

Teleporting from the end of his bed to sitting right next to him, Ryoko's yellow eyes stared deeply into his with the smile still present on her red lips.

"You're not afraid of what I can become?" Abel asked quietly in the darkness. He could still remember Esther's horrified reaction when he had activated his Crusnik's powers to protect her. The space pirate was responding differently, like she knew what it was like to have a demon lurking within...just waiting to rip apart the world.

"Personally, your demon would kick my demon's ass – unless I cheated or something," Ryoko muttered in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Plus, I can't heal myself after drinking my enemies' blood..." she reached out gingerly with her bandaged right hand to touch the dressed wound on his shoulder. The pirate gently moved the bloodied linen wrapping to find perfect and pale bare skin underneath.

Abel felt his skin tingle when her fingertips brushed against his shoulder as she inspected him. Again, the priest could feel his heart thumping in his chest when she made contact. She looked so beautiful tonight…just like a star that had fallen from the heavens.

If Ryoko hadn't been there to stop him, the priest in his Crusnik form would have torn the vampire to pieces and broken his vow with God. His boiling anger had been cooled by her touch and worried look. She was his salvation and it frightened him.

He shivered slightly from her touch.

Immediately pulling her hand back, Ryoko quickly apologized. "Does it still hurt?"

"No, it wasn't that..." Abel avoided direct eye contact with her momentarily. _Just tell her how you feel already! How hard can this_-

Ryoko suddenly leaned forward on the bed and pressed her lips against his. When he closed his eyes in response, she kissed him more passionately and finished by biting his lower lip playfully.

It took Abel a few seconds to realize what was going on. Once he knew, panic began to flood his mind. "I-I shouldn't be-"

Before letting him finish, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her chest. Abel could feel her heart pounding – just like his. "This is real Abel," Ryoko whispered. "Now shut the fuck up and kiss me."

Without wasting another second, Abel locked his lips with her. He fumbled with his hands, not knowing what to do with them, until Ryoko finally placed one hand to grab her hip and the other to cup her breasts.

She pushed him down on the bed and kissed his neck, listening to his breath quicken, before moving on top of him. Ryoko began unbuckling his pants.

"We shouldn't be doing this…" Abel said as he slipped his shaking hands under her dress, "The others will…" he lost his train of thought when Ryoko tugged on his earlobe with her lips.

Pausing for a moment, Ryoko teleported to the door and locked it. She undid the strings of her dress behind her back and allowed the dress to fall to the ground. "Yes, we shouldn't…" she said before returning to his bed.

* * *

"STOP! _Stop-_" blood tears ran down the vampire's cheeks. His nostrils flared when he caught whiff of his own charcoaled flesh. "I'll tell you-" he coughed blood that dribbled down his chin and stained his shirt, "what you want to know. Stop…"

Valclav lowered the red hot, iron cattle prod from the hound master's stubbed left shoulder. "What are the Orden's plans for Queen of Albion and Tenchi?" he hissed in a dangerous tone of voice.

The vampire bit his lip as he gathered his thoughts but started speaking when the priest raised the cattle prod at him again. "The Rosenkreuz Orden is planning to resurrect the fallen angel-"

Valclav pressed the iron prod deep into the vampire's skin, "They can't bring Cain back. He is dead!" he growled while the vampire howled in pain. "I watched Abel kill him with my own eyes!"

Once the cattle prod was removed from his flesh, the vampire took in long breaths to tolerate the pain. "They want to use demon-summoning powers and electric energy of that girl in your custody to summon Cain back from the dead…then equip Cain with the red-head's power and the boy's protective shield. Then he is _indestructible_…" He watched silently as this information sunk into the priest's brain.

Valclav glanced over at Sister Caterina, who just simply nodded in response. The AX member pulled out a silver stake out of his robe sleeve and slammed it into the vampire's chest. The tortured extremist's body twitched for a few seconds before he finally slumped over dead.

"We have to stop this before it progresses anymore," Caterina said to her long-time friend. "Summon all of the AX members immediately for an emergency meeting…"

Bowing and exiting the make-shift torture chamber, Valclav contacted Sister Kate using his ear piece.

Caterina moved closer to inspect the dead vampire; she stepped precariously to avoid the pool of blood. "Another pitiful casualty of war," she moved back in disgust when a piece of blackened flesh dropped and nearly landed on her shoes.


	10. Bait and Switch

"Abel," whispered a voice close to his ear. The silver-haired priest crinkled his nose before cracking his eyes open. "Abel…" the voice was getting louder. Rubbing his eyes and stretching out, Abel glanced over to his side to find no one sleeping next to him. _Was I terrible_? Abel could feel the panic rising in his chest as he searched for his glasses on the nearby bed stand. _Did I do something wrong? Maybe it was something I sai-_

"Abel Nightroad report!" yelled a voice sharply in his ear. It was Sister Kate. "We have been called for an emergency meeting…_twenty minutes ago_," she added dryly.

The priest frowned to himself as he groggily moved out of his bed to find his clothes. "_Where is Ryoko_?" he muttered to himself.

"The space pirate was not requested for the meeting," Sister Kate had heard him mention her name. "Please hurry down…Caterina is not very pleased as it is."

Pulling his hair back into a loose ponytail, Abel searched the room for any hints to where Ryoko had gone. He sighed loudly when he came to the conclusion that it was nothing more than a one night fling. His blue eyes grew misty but he cleared his throat and held back the tears. _I shouldn't have said I love you_…

* * *

Ryoko gave William Wordsworth a fowl look as she stood there listening to his boring drabble. The cup of tea and scones she had stolen from the kitchen for Abel were getting cold. "I really should be getting back-" she started to interject. The scowl on her face grew darker when he ignored her and continued to talk about his latest inventions.

What the space pirate didn't know was that Wordsworth was given the task to keep Ryoko occupied while the AX members had their secret meeting a few rooms away. Talking someone's ear off was Wordsworth's specialty.

"Look," Ryoko growled through clenched teeth, "I would _love_ to listen more about your inventions but I really have to get these scones back to-"

Wordsworth knew he was losing her attention, so he decided to usher her towards his lab. "I finally found out how you entered our world," he smirked when Ryoko fell silent. He pointed to the schematics on his desk, "From my _genius_ calculations…you and your friend came to this world through a black hole."

Ryoko remembered the small black cube that was sitting on Washu's failed experiments desk when she was fighting with Ayeka. The pink-haired crazy scientist wanted to make a miniature black hole to act as a storage space for all of her experiments and creations.

Setting the scones and cold tea on the desk, the space pirate stared at the squiggles, math equations, and random numbers on a star constellation map.

"You came here from Earth," Wordsworth folded his arms smugly across his chest.

"But this is Earth…isn't it?"

"Yes, but this is the year 3980…"

Ryoko bit her thumb as she thought about the last time she had seen an Earth calendar back at home. _It was Tenchi's birthday three months ago_…_Fuck_. She held her breath for a moment. "I am 2,000 years into the future?"

Wordsworth simply nodded. "Quite a feat to pull today for just one person…but two? I would have thought it to be impossible."

"_Leave it to Washu_," Ryoko clenched her fist. "Is there any way to create another black hole?"

He shook his head, "Not unless someone from your time decides to open the black hole back up."

Ryoko slammed her fist on the table, spilling the tea over the map. _Damnit_! _How the fuck am I going to get Tenchi and I back home?_ _I need to find Tenchi…I need Abel to help me- _"Where is everyone?" she asked suddenly.

Wordsworth gave her a nervous smile, "The AX members are currently in a meeting…you'll have to wait."

"Wait?" she growled. "We have to find Tenchi and Esther before-" she felt a strange presence behind her. Shifting her yellow eyes, the space pirate saw a blur of black and white envelope her. Ryoko felt a slight prick on her neck and suddenly things became dark. "You bastard…" she hissed as she slumped over the person who had attacked her.

The professor walked over and lifted Ryoko's eyelids to find her eyes had rolled to the back of her head. "That was a little close," he muttered.

Gunslinger easily lifted Ryoko's unconscious body into his arms and gave the professor a calculating look. "Affirmative. You make for a poor distraction," he spit the empty syringe on the ground.

Wordsworth frowned, "Now don't forget to check in with me once you have reached the safe house." He glanced over at the scones and tea, which contained a mountain of melted sugar, and knew immediately who they were for. "Caterina has made is especially clear that Father Nightroad is to be kept in the dark about this, understood?"

"Affirmative," Father Tres carried the limp space pirate out of Wordsworth's office.

* * *

"_You authorized what?"_ the silver haired priest slammed his fist into the closest stone pillar.

Caterina did not flinch. "Father Nightroad we did this for her _safety-_"

"Taking her away against her will and holding her captive in some dark underground safe house is supposed to make her feel safe?" Abel pulled his fist away the cracked stone. Blood began to drip down his fingers.

"We all decided that this was the best option for her…for all of us. The Rozencraunce Ordren wants her to complete their sick little plan to release chaos upon the world. The best way to prevent this is to hide her until we can find out more." Caterina cleared her voice, "With that being said-I am sending _all of you_ to find out the whereabouts of Queen Esther and Tenchi."

She made momentary eye-contact with each of the AX members to make her orders crystal clear.

"We have to figure out what they are planning…once we know – then we can stop them once and for all," she let her words sink in for a moment. "_Dismissed_."

* * *

"Yhrr nn asssoooll," Ryoko growled through her mouth gag as she glared at Father Tres from the backseat of the car.

Gunslinger looked in the rearview mirror, "We are still allies," he tried to reassure her.

Ryoko scoffed in response.

"My orders were to secure you in our underground safe house for the time being," Tres said in an emotionless tone.

Her yellow eyes hardened as she glared at the back of Tres' head. "I cnn takkk caaar oof muhhselfff…" she tried to kick the back of his seat but lost her balance and slumped against the door. The space pirate's head banged against the door as Tres sped over a pothole in the road. "Gnnngh…"

Ryoko suddenly sat up straight in the backseat. "Whhtt uuu meeen weeerre?"

"My neurochip is malfunctioning," Tres tapped the side of his head with his index finger, "I am lacking the ability to follow the proper protocol at this time. I will have Woodsworth exam me once this is over."

Tres suddenly made a sharp turn, which made Ryoko slide across the backseat and slam headfirst into the car's door again, and then came to a complete stop. "Soonn off ah bttch!"

The front passenger door opened. "Now what did I say about swearing?"

Temporarily ignoring her swollen nose, Ryoko lifted her head to find the silver-haired priest smiling warmly at her as he climbed into the car. "Fkk uu," she grumbled as she masked her feelings of relief from him.

Father Nightroad slipped a piece of paper to Tres before he leaned over his passenger seat to untie Ryoko's mouth gag. His blue eyes stared directly into hers, reading her like an open book. He momentarily brushed his thumb against her cheek, hoping Tres would not see him do it. _It will be alright_, _I promise_.

"You didn't have to drug and tie me up you know," Ryoko spat at Gunslinger.

"You are not very good at keeping your mouth shut," Tres pressed down hard on the gas pedal.

Abel laughed at Ryoko's sour expression. He sat forward in his seat and pressed his glasses closer to his face. "How much time do we have?" the priest asked his AX partner.

"Approximately four hours before the planned strike-"

"Planned strike?" Ryoko interrupted. "How do you know when they will attack next?"

"They told us…" The silver-haired priest pulled out his right pistol to inspect how many bullets he had left.

Ryoko's brow crinkled, "Why the fuck would they do that?"

Abel dropped the pistol on his lap and looked over his shoulder at her, "First. Language. Second. They want us to try and stop them."

Her yellow eyes narrowed at him, "Because they want me…"

"Exactly," Abel faced the front again. "And that is precisely what we are going to do."

The space pirate laughed, "I like this plan. Can you put a bow on the top of my head for them?"

Abel smirked on the outside. On the inside he was scared shitless to walk straight into a trap like this. It was the only way to figure out what they were planning though. He glanced at Ryoko through the rear view mirror to see her wink.


	11. The Ceremony

Father Tres signaled for Abel and Ryoko to join him in the shadows of the bushes. "There are thirty-two vampires loading explosives onto that airship," he whispered to them. His non-human eyes locked on the crates. "Looks like they are planning on destroying the Vatican-"

Abel bit the bottom of his lip, "This doesn't feel right." _They have tried this before and it failed miserably_… "I think this is a distraction from their true purpose…"

It didn't take much effort for Gunslinger and Nightroad to find out where the extremist's airship was preparing to take off. One of the vampires had gotten drunk and was sent back home to sleep off his buzz. As he was stumbling down the street, he nearly stepped in front of the AX car. After interrogating the inebriated vampire with idle threats, the AX members had gotten enough information to find the loading dock.

The three heroes didn't have to sneak around much to get close enough to inspect the cargo. It was all too easy.

"Well, we can't just sit here and wait forever now can we?" Ryoko stood up from the bushes and headed towards the airship.

Abel leapt up and grabbed her wrist to stop her, "_Stop! This is suicide!_"

"I'm the _bait_, remember?" she jerked her hand away. "Just don't leave me behind _priest_," she curved the corner of her lip into a smile at him. Taking a deep breath, she headed towards the vampire minions.

The priest felt powerless as he watched her walked right into their clutches. It was his plan after all, he could only blame himself. His heart stopped when she momentarily glanced back at him and gave him a thumbs-up signal.

In a matter of seconds the vampires swarmed around her like a pack of starving wolves. Their eyes blood red and drool dripping from their half-open mouths, they snapped at her but did not move in for the kill. They were under control of Dietrich – and that was the only thing keeping Ryoko alive.

"Where's your puppet master?" Ryoko announced loudly.

Strolling out of the airship's loading bay with his hands in his pants pockets, the beautiful but deadly villain nodded to move the vampires out of his way. "Ah, if it isn't the _one that got away_…" he said in a pleasant tone of voice. "Finally decided to join our side and serve a greater purpose?"

"I want to trade," she could see Dietrich's grin widen with amusement. "The queen and Tenchi for me." The space pirate kept a wary eye on the vampires that encircled the both of them.

Dietrich stroked his chin and paced in front of Ryoko for a few steps and then stopped. "I'm sorry but we need _all of you_ to complete our little _miracle_," he snapped his fingers.

The vampires tackled Ryoko to the ground but she did not try to fight. The beautiful young man brushed the dirt off her shoulders and leaned close to her face. "Where are your _friends_?"

"Friends?" Ryoko spat, "They were willing to sacrifice Tenchi for the greater good…_I'm not_." She hoped her lying skills were up to par.

He kept direct eye contact with her for a minute. "Good," Dietrich straightened up and pulled his hands out of his pockets. He revealed a brass knuckle wrapped around a tightened fist. In one swift movement, he slammed his fist into her chest and then another swipe to her forehead.

"Take her inside and search the perimeter just to be safe," the young ordered in a scoff voice.

Two of the vampire minions dragged her unconscious body into the airship and the rest returned to work. Dietrich gingerly touched his slightly reddened knuckle as he scanned the loading dock.

While Ryoko was serving as a distraction, Abel and Tres had managed to sneak around and find their way into the airship through one of the air vents.

"Let's get moving!" Dietrich yelled when the minions turned up with nothing. "We have everything that we require for the ceremony now," he slipped his hands back into his pants pockets and strolled back onto the airship.

* * *

"Alright if this works I'll be back in a few hours," Washu snapped a pair of green-tinted goggles onto her face.

Ayeka frowned, "Why can't I go and rescue Lord Tenchi too?"

Sighing loudly, the crazy scientist tossed a red button to the princess. "I am the only one who knows how to work this thing. If I'm not back in six hours, press that emergency button and it will bring me back."

"Emergency?" Ayeka clutched the button close to her chest. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Deciding that is was better to not answer the question; Washu activated the newly created mini blackhole cube. In a bright flash of light, the pink-haired scientist was sucked into a dark hole with a loud pop.

"Oh dear," Ayeka paced around the lab nervously. "I don't like this one bit…"

* * *

Waking up to a throbbing headache, Ryoko found herself shackled to a glowing green circle in the center of the airship. She glanced around the room and suddenly noticed a large black coffin to her right. _What the hell is that_? Slowly climbing to her feet, the space pirate tried to get a better look at the coffin. It was sealed shut.

"Good, you are finally awake…" Dietrich whispered from behind.

Ryoko flipped around to see the puppet master with his favorite puppet by his side. Staring at Ryoko with glazed-over eyes, Esther handed Dietrich two large crimson jewels.

"Where is Tenchi?" Ryoko snapped as Dietrich moved towards her.

The gorgeous man raised one of the jewels to her chest, "He is protecting this airship until the ceremony is complete. Now this may pinch a little bit…" Metal spikes sprouted from the jewel.

Ryoko struggled back but Esther approached the cyan-haired pirate with a gun aimed at her temple. It gave Dietrich enough time to place jewel over her heart.

The metal spikes dug into Ryoko's skin, causing her to scream out in pain.

"Her screaming is coming from this way!" Abel hissed to Tres over his shoulder as they crawled through the air vents as fast as they could go. _I'll be there soon Ryoko_.

"Wh-at is this-ceremony for?" Ryoko asked the young man through clenched teeth.

Dietrich gave her a sweet smile, "We are going to bring my master back to life…Cain," he glanced over at the coffin. "The quickest way to do it is to use your life source." He pushed the coffin lid open and dropped the second jewel in.

"Esther dear? Would you start it up?" Dietrich sounded pleased with himself. "This will probably hurt a lot more," he gave Ryoko a fake sympathetic look.

As Esther flipped on the switch, the jewel on Ryoko's chest lit up along with the green circle she was chained to. The gravity created by the circle brought her down to her knees and then the jewel began its work. Ryoko's screams echoed the haul of the airship as the jewel slowly sucked her life away.


	12. A Reunion of Sorts

Kicking the vent gate off its hinges, Abel tumbled out of the air vent and dropped to the ground with a thud. Tres followed, but landed on his feet silently. With their guns ready, the two AX members headed towards the center of the air ship and to Ryoko's screams.

"We have visitors Dietrich," called Isaak from the control room. He had caught sight of the silver-haired priest's nasty fall from the air vents on video.

"Take care of them," Dietrich barked at his vampire puppets. He strolled over to Ryoko with a dark look in his eyes, "I'll make sure your _friends _make it to you in _several pieces_." He signaled for Esther to follow him to intercept the Vatican priests.

"Take care to not remove the jewel," Dietrich called to the space pirate over his shoulder. "Or you will be in for a _terrible surprise_…"

Once he was gone, Ryoko tried to pull the jewel off her chest but the pain was too much. She glanced over the coffin to see a mummified hand twitching. "ABEL!"

"Wait," Tres held his hand up to stop Abel from busting the door down to take the stairs. "There is movement…" The keen sensors in Tres' ears and eyes picked up noises and several heat signals coming from above them. "Hunters," he cocked his pistols.

"How many?" Abel whispered.

"Too many," Gunslinger quickly surveyed the hallway to their left. "I suggest taking the route to the left-"

"You aren't coming?" The humble priest could hear the Hunters now – they were rushing down the staircase.

"Affirmative," the droid cracked his neck and rotated his shoulders in preparation for battle. "I will join you when I am able Father Nightroad."

Abel headed down the hallway, "Thank you Father Tres." He glanced over his shoulder once to catch a glimpse of Gunslinger kicking the door down and blasting the first Hunter point-blank.

Running down the hallway, Abel took the first right, then a left, and then right again. _There has to be another way to get upstairs_… He went down the next hallway, which was dimly lit. Cautiously, the silver-haired priest checked the first room. It was empty. As he moved towards the next room, Abel heard what he thought was familiar muffled crying.

"_Esther_?" Abel whispered softly as he poked his head into the room. He lowered his pistols and sighed with relief when he saw the queen sobbing on the floor with her back to him. "Esther we have to get you out of here…" the priest bent down and touched her shoulder.

When he saw her glazed-over expression he knew that this had been a trick.

Before Abel could react, Dietrich had silently snuck up behind the priest from his hiding spot and slammed his brass knuckles into the back of Abel's skull.

"This is the _last time_ you get in our way," Dietrich growled as he stood over his stunned enemy. He snapped his fingers and Esther appeared by his side, "Be a dear and dispose of him."

Through his blurred vision, Abel could make out a gun aimed at his chest. "Esther…please don't do this…" the room was still spinning for him.

With the gun shaking in her hands, Esther flicked the safety off. _Almost there_…she prepared herself.

"Pull the trigger Esther…" cooed Dietrich to the right of her.

Abel shut his eyes tight and lowered his head. Two shots were fired. Taking a deep breath, Abel realized that he hadn't felt anything. Opening his eyes and lifting his head, the priest saw Esther hovering over Dietrich's bleeding body.

Blood was pouring from Dietrich's chest as he stared wide-eyed at the red-head like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I am no longer your _plaything_!" Esther screamed as she pulled the trigger again. His beautiful face was gone forever.

As she staggered back away from the faceless body, Abel stood up and wrapped his arms around Esther. The queen turned around and began sobbing on the priest's shoulder for real this time; most likely from the shock. "I-finally d-did it," she said between sobs.

"He'll never touch you again Esther…" Abel sighed with relief.

* * *

_I have to get this off_… Ryoko was trying to build enough mental courage to rip the jewel off her chest. The mummified hand was growing muscle, white skin, and moving more as time progressed. Counting down slowly in her head, Ryoko wrapped her fingers around the edges of the jewel.

_Now_… As she tugged, Ryoko could feel her heart stop and her lungs nearly collapse. Writhing in pain, Ryoko kept pulling for a few more seconds until her grip loosened from the throbbing pain. Lying on the cold ground, catching her breath, the space pirate stared at the ceiling of the airship. _Where are you Abel_?

The coffin lid started moving. Ryoko's head jerked to see a half-fleshed hand slowly pushing the coffin open, revealing the rest of the body.

Rolling onto her stomach and awkwardly climbing to her feet, Ryoko stood on the green glowing circle facing whoever or whatever was rising from the coffin.

Covered in all white, a man emerged from the coffin with long blonde hair. He examined his body, inspecting the recovery process. The glowing jewel on his chest was tapped once by his bony index finger. Satisfied with the results thus far, the Crusnik moved his attention over to Ryoko. His blue eyes pierced into hers.

_He looks just like Abel_… She backed away to the edge of the circle as he took a step towards her. "Who are you?" Ryoko hissed.

"I am Cain," the blonde bowed gracefully in front of her, "I am Abel's brother." He pulled a pair of white gloves from his pocket and put them on carefully.

"Welcome back my lord," Isaak said over the communications system.

"You can free the woman," Cain ordered. When Isaak started to protest, the Crusnik repeated the order. "Her strength is siphoning into me…there isn't much she can do now Isaak."

The radiant green circle under her feet dimmed and the intense gravity field was lifted. Ryoko moved cautiously to the side, ready to strike if there was the need.

"Abel is here my lord," Isaak warned.

"I know," Cain smiled softly at Ryoko. "This time my foolish younger brother will not get in the way…" He stretched his hand out to her, "You can still join us. Watch the world burn-"

"CAIN!" Abel shouted at the top of his lungs as he finally made it to the center of the airship. "Leave her out of this. She has _nothing_ to do with _you_," he snarled. It was the first time Ryoko had heard the tone of pure hated in Abel's voice.

Esther meekly peeked over the priest's shoulder to see the villain mastermind. "He is still alive? How in the world?"

"Your _friend_…" Cain momentarily glanced at Ryoko, "Has been kind enough to provide me enough energy to pull myself together." He smirked at his silver-haired counterpart, "How have you been brother?"

"Enough of the damn pleasantries," Ryoko barked. "Release Tenchi before I _fucking _make you!"

Cain gave her a surprised look, "My, you have a tongue on you. I can't release him my dear. Tenchi is the only thing protecting this airship from being destroyed until I am fully recovered."

Tensing up the muscles in her shoulders, the space pirate glanced around the airship. She had fought in tighter spaces before. The only problem was forcing Abel to save Tenchi while she distracted the evil brother. An idea suddenly popped into her head.

"Then I'll just _kill you_," Ryoko conjured her energy beam sword and charged at Cain with very little force. She left herself a wide vulnerable spot as she attacked, hoping that the Crusnik would see and act upon it. The space pirate hoped that he would not try to kill her in the process until he was fully recovered.

He did. In one swift movement, Cain stopped Ryoko's attack by grabbing her throat and tossing her across the room at Abel and Esther. "_Fool_," he snapped, "You are no match for me."

"Ryoko-" Abel rushed over to her. "Are you alright…?"

"Never better," she muttered in a sour tone. "You have to find Tenchi. Get them out of here once I have your brother's attention," she hissed to Abel out of the corner of her mouth.

"Ryoko you don't understand, he's-" He fell silent when she looked at him with her stern yellow eyes. The silver-haired priest noticed the tears forming in her eyes – she was afraid. _Ryoko please don't do this…I can't lose you too._

"You have to promise me to get Tenchi out of here…_no matter what Abel_," she whispered as she got to her feet.

"I-" the priest sighed. "I promise, Ryoko." He paused and bit the bottom of his lip, _You might not get the chance again_, he told himself. Abel reached out and brushed his hand across her cheek, "I meant it when I said that I love you."

"I know," Ryoko fought the oncoming tears. "Go now," she gave him another thumbs-up signal, "I've got this."

Cain laughed at the smitten look on his brother's face, "So, you have feelings for this woman? How adorably grotesque…"

"Hey asshole," Ryoko growled, "I'm not done with you yet…" The red energy beam sword appeared in her hands again.

"Isaak-release the Hunters to keep my brother company while I deal with the harlot," Cain ordered before activating his Crusnik form.

While he was transforming, Ryoko charged at the powerful blonde Crusnik with her eyes burning red. Teleporting constantly back and forth, Ryoko took multiple short swipes at Cain with her energy beam sword. All her attacks were blocked effortlessly except for one.

Blood dripped down Cain's left cheek. He wiped his blood away with his gloved hand and inspected it intently. "Still have enough fight left in you, eh? You _are_ what I had hoped for," the Crusnik removed his white cotton gloves. "A new challenge…" he spread out his six beautiful snow white feathered wings.

_An angel? _Ryoko frowned as she tried to remember Tenchi's description of angels. He always described his mother as an angel…soft eyes, gentle heart, and would keep you warm with her white wings. _This isn't an angel. He wants the world to turn on itself and watch it slowly destroy all life. _

Cain's now blood red lips curved into a vicious smile, "Better keep up now…because I'm not done with you yet either." The Crusnik revealed a scythe from behind his back, similar to Abel's, but in a different color.

Ryoko swallowed loudly. _Fuck_.

* * *

**Note:** Thanks for all of the favorites and adding this story to your alerts. Please let me know what you think via review, I would like to improve as a writer in as many ways possible. Sorry for the long delay, I am currently finishing veterinary school and studying canine cardiology usually wins over writing my fanfiction. Thanks again.


	13. Curtain Call

"Run Esther!" Abel shot the reanimated vampire corpse tearing at Esther's sleeve; the Hunter's head was severed clean from its neck. Esther ripped the monster's hand away from her as the headless body convulsed.

The priest rushed over to her and grabbed her by the wrist. "Stay behind me," he ordered. "We have to make it to where they are keeping Tenchi hostage. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes!" Esther quickly glanced around until she spotted a door labeled _Engine Room_. "He's in there-" the red-head screamed when another Hunter leapt at them.

Knocking the Hunter to the ground with a pistol whip, Abel told Esther to go ahead of him. He fired two shots into the side of the Hunter's masked face. The priest followed Esther into the engine room and slammed the door shut behind him. He braced himself against it as he reloaded his pistols; buying time for him to catch his breath and to give Esther a greater head start.

The Hunters rammed the door, knocking it off its hinges. Abel whipped around and continued to fire until there was no more movement in front of him.

He suddenly heard Esther scream. "I'm coming Esther!" The priest bolted down the hallway, jumped down several metal stairs, and sharply turned into the engine room.

Several of the living vampires protecting Tenchi's unconscious state had cornered Esther. As the first vampire leapt forward, Abel ran up to her and bluntly kicked them square in the chest. He fired a bullet deep into its skull.

The rest of the vampires attacked at once, but Abel quickly cut them down. He reloaded his weapons, put them back in their holsters, and then checked Esther's state. "Did they hurt you?" he bent down and offered his hand to help her up.

"Father Nightroad watch out!" Esther reached out to him, grabbing a pistol in its holster and awkwardly aiming at the Hunter that had surprised them. Closing both eyes, she pulled the trigger. When she heard a loud thump, she gingerly opened one eye to find the undead creature twitching on the floor with a massive hole in its chest.

Abel momentarily glanced over his shoulder to make sure the Hunter would not get back up and then lifted Esther to her feet. "Good shot," he gave her a quick nod before inspecting the containment apparatus Tenchi was held in.

The large glass container was hooked up to a computer; which was also keeping Tenchi in his unconscious state. Abel started typing furiously on the keyboard to break the computer's code. "_Damnit_," he slammed his fist into the keyboard after he received the access denied message for the fifth time. "I need a password to get him out of there…"

"I might know it…" Esther made the priest move out of her way. "Dietrich programmed this…" she tried to think back to what he had typed when it was first installed. Closing her eyes she pictured Dietrich hovering over the keyboard, sarcastically making a joke to Esther while she was still under his control. "I remember it-" Esther typed in the word _peace_ and hit the enter key.

"That bastard's cruel idea of a joke…" Esther mumbled.

Pressure was released and the container began to open.

* * *

"You are very noble," Cain mused quietly. "Sacrificing yourself for them like this…" he smiled cruelly at her. "You'll break my _poor brother's heart_," he laughed.

"I'll wipe that fucking grin off your face before I'm dead," Ryoko snarled. "That should make Abel _real happy_." There was no use in denying, Cain was speaking the truth. Even if Ryoko was functioning at full capacity, she would not be able to defeat Cain alone. The plan was for the space pirate to weaken the demented blonde angel enough so that Abel could finish the bastard off once and for all.

"Do you need any assistance my lord?" Isaak asked again on the intercom from the control room.

Cain paused, rolling his eyes to the back of his head and sighing loudly, "For the final time – _NO_! If I can't beat this harlot on my own, then I might as well still be dead!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Ryoko caught sight of a familiar figure in stealth mode. _There you are Tres_…_about fucking time_. He stopped at the edge of the shadows and stared at the sight of the risen Cain. The droid kept frozen, most likely calculating if he would be successful in obtaining a kill shot from his position.

It was too dangerous for Tres to make a move. Cain was almost functioning at full capacity now.

Ryoko mouthed the word "Isaak" to Gunslinger without Cain noticing. Hopefully the elder vampire would be an easier assassination target.

The priest gave her a quick nod in response. He revealed a seven-inch blade from his back pocket and stuck it between his teeth before slipping back into the shadows.

"Are we going to finish this or what, fuck-face?" Ryoko cracked her knuckles and gave the angel a defiant look.

* * *

"Ugh," Tenchi groggily glanced around at his surroundings. His brown eyes stopped on Esther's smiling face. "Esther…? What happened?" He rubbed his eyes and suddenly noticed a silver-haired priest standing behind Esther. "Who…?"

"We have to hurry," Abel readjusted his glasses, "Ryoko won't be able to hold off Cain for much longer-"

"Ryoko is here?" Tenchi suddenly perked up.

"She came to rescue you," Abel muttered dryly. _I can't see why though. You are definitely not a strong-looking fellow… _"Now let's go!"

The airship suddenly shook violently; knocking them all off balance and sending them to the ground.

"That can't be good," Esther rubbed the back of her head gingerly.

"The shields are down…the Iron Maiden is taking her chance to knock us out of the sky."

Esther stared at Abel wide-eyed, "You didn't tell them that you snuck onto this ship?"

The humble priest shrugged innocently, "That tiny detail might have slipped from my mind-" The Iron Maiden fired another shot at the enemy airship. "We have to keep moving…maybe we can contact them through the control room."

Tenchi hobbled behind Abel, who had quickly moved out of the engine room with a dark look on his face, and Esther. Taking notice of Tenchi's slow pace, the redheaded queen slowed down and held Tenchi's arm to help him down the hallway a little faster. "What is going on?" he whispered to her.

"Dietrich is dead…I killed him," she smiled at him. They were almost caught up to Abel, who had stopped abruptly in front of them. "But not before an old enemy of ours was put back together… Ryoko was holding him off until…" Esther stopped dead in her tracks.

"Nice of you to finally rejoin us…I was starting to get bored." Cain stood in front of them with his boot on Ryoko's barely conscious, bloodied body. Blood – most likely belonging to the space pirate – covered the floor of the airship. "I took care of your partner…" the blonde villain signaled to a slumped body belonging to Tres, "but unfortunately not before he took out Isaak." The control room's half-broken viewing window was splattered with blood. Glass had shattered all over the floor. "Oh well," he chuckled softly to himself.

"_Let her go Cain_…" Abel's voice was dripping with acid. He aimed his pistols at his older brother, "_LET HER GO_!"

"How does it feel Abel? To have the woman you love die right in front of you because you lacked the willpower to unleash the true monster within you..." Cain's pale lips turned into a vicious grin as he dug the heel of his boot deeper into Ryoko's chest. His tongue traced the edges of his lips when more blood poured out of the corner of the space pirate's mouth. "Can you hear her lungs slowly being crushed?" the Crusnik leaned closer to hear her painful breaths, "Such a _beautiful _sound, isn't it brother?"

Rage consumed Abel as he watched her pathetically struggle to remove the vampire's boot from her chest. "A-a-" Ryoko couldn't breathe in long enough to say Abel's name. _Don't do this…he is too powerful…_ Tears poured down her cheeks.

Cain began to laugh hysterically. "What is that?" the crazed angel leaned closer to hear Ryoko's failed attempt to speak. "He's not going to save you. Better save your last breath my dear-"

While Cain was busy mocking Ryoko, Abel had activated his crusnik powers at full power. Blood rage consumed the black-winged priest as he body slammed the blonde crusnik off Ryoko's chest.

Cain barely dodged the sharp red edge of Abel's scythe as he realized what was finally going on. "Welcome back brother!" he grinned mischievously.

Abel gripped his scythe tightly in his hands with his blood red eyes glowing, "_Go to hell_ and fucking _stay _there this time!"


	14. Let's Go Out with a Bang

Abel took a long wide swipe at his brother, which Cain naturally deflected the attack as he flipped backwards. Just as Cain got to his feet, Abel began madly swirling his scythe above Cain's head. A slice of blonde hair floated to the ground. Cain started to sprint forward.

"You're angry…" Cain laughed between heavy breaths. His laughter was cut short when Abel suddenly got in front of him and Abel slammed the handle end of his scythe into Cain's chest. Cain was sent flying across the room.

The silver-haired crusnik glanced over his shoulder at Tenchi, who was paralyzed with fear. "Get _her_ out of here!" he yelled before he rushed at Cain again.

Cain meekly blocked his brother's attack, which sent him sliding on his back across the floor. Lying on his back slightly stunned and staring at the ceiling, Cain saw his brother falling towards him with his red scythe raised above his head. Quickly, Cain rolled away from the attack. The scythe barely caught the edge of Cain's sleeve. "I think you are trying to kill me!" Cain laughed in a high pitch tone as he leapt to his feet.

Abel went in for another attack, which Cain easily deflected to the side and landed a sucker punch across Abel's pale face.

Finally able to move his feet, Tenchi ran towards Ryoko and slid across the metal floor for the last few feet. He scooped up her bloodied, fragile body and carried her away from the center of the battle field. She coughed up blood on his shirt but he did not seem to notice. "I got you Ryoko…" he whispered.

Esther helped Tenchi manipulate Ryoko's body to sit with her back against the ship's wall. The space pirate's head rolled down and the whites of her eyes were showing.

"Wake up Ryoko!" Tenchi grabbed her face with both of his hands and lifted her head to make direct eye contact. "_I still need you_…"

Coming to her senses for a moment, Ryoko stared past Tenchi to see Abel fighting his brother. At first their details were sharp but they slowly progressed to blurs of black and silver against white and blonde. _Keep with it Ryoko_, she mentally shook herself.

Her yellow eyes drifted over to Gunslinger's body lying on the ground several hundred feet away. She swore she saw something red flash at her from Tres' broken right eye piece. "Tres…" Ryoko mumbled in a confused tone.

Esther glanced over her shoulder at the droid. "Is he still alive, Ryoko?" the redhead stood up and started to move towards his body.

"Y-yes," Ryoko coughed up more blood.

Tenchi used the edge of his shirt sleeve to dab the blood away from her lips. "You shouldn't talk Ryoko," he whispered softly. _This can't be the end_…

"Just…l-like old..d times," the space pirate tried to give Tenchi a smile.

Wiping away a tear from his cheek, Tenchi smiled back at her. "Yeah…just like old times."

Esther knelt down next to Father Tres' body to get a closer look. Her heart raced with excitement when she saw the red light emanating from his right eye focus on her delicate face. "He's still functioning!" she attempted to lift his body but it was too heavy. "Tenchi come help me with him!"

"I..m f-fine," Ryoko weakly gave him a thumbs up signal. As she listened to him promise that he would come right back, the space pirate leaned her head back. Forming simple thoughts was becoming a harder task. Her vision would come and go. And for some reason, Ryoko was starting to hear voices that she knew weren't there.

Something had made a loud popping noise off to her left, but the space pirate chose to ignore it.

"Looks like I just showed up at the right time…"

Ryoko coughed half of a laugh when she recognized the voice. _Am I hallucinating as I am dying_? Rolling her head gingerly over her shoulder, the space pirate made out a blurry white face with bright pink hair. _Great…I am fucking hallucinating_. "Your-r f-face i-s not the…last t-thing-g I wan-t t-o see be-fore I fucking die…W-Washu," she grumbled sourly.

Washu folded her arms across her chest smugly, "I'm going to make an educated guess that this world doesn't have any sake…"

"Washu?!" Tenchi couldn't believe that the crazy scientist had suddenly appeared out of thin air. "Your timing couldn't have been any better," he laid Tres' nonfunctional body next to Ryoko. Embracing Washu, Tenchi wrapped both arms around her tightly and lifted her off the ground.

"Okay! Okay! You can revel in the magnitude of my brilliance another time-" Washu straightened her shirt and cleared her throat once she was back on the ground.

"Fix-h-im Was-hu," Ryoko bit her lip from the pain as she took in a long deep breath.

Washu gave Ryoko a long hard look, "The android can wait." She began digging into her coat pocket to find a small metal syringe gun filled with white liquid.

"What is that…?" Tenchi asked quietly.

"Oh-this?" Washu beamed, "Just a new invention I am trying out!"

Ryoko glared at Washu, _You and your fucking inventions are what caused this entire problem in the first place…_

The metal ground quaked. Washu, Tenchi, Esther, and Ryoko tumbled over each other with a loud thump. "What was tha-" Tenchi started to say as the entire airship shook violently.

"It's the Iron Maiden!" Esther suddenly realized. "The shields are down so they are attacking-" they braced themselves from another blast sent by the Iron Maiden. Esther was separated from the rest of the group by the third blast.

"You have to get to the control room at tell them to stop firing-" Tenchi yelled over at Esther, "or we are all dead!"

Awkwardly climbing to her feet, Esther set her determined eyes on the broken control room directly above them.

Abel whipped his red scythe behind his back and struck at his brother with unthinkable speed. Cain blocked the attack, but was forced backwards into a corner from the blow.

"Are you growing tired Cain?" Abel growled in a dark voice with his eyes glowing blood red. The priest knew that Ryoko's energy had its limits. The crystal had sucked her dry and now Cain was just surviving on his own remaining strength.

"Brother," Cain said with a smile, "The only thing I grow tired of is your love for these pathetic humans." His smile quickly faded as he ran at Abel full speed. He swiped at the priest's face with his own scythe.

Abel dodged the attack by side-stepping to the right. As Cain continued to move past his brother, he watched out the corner of his eye Abel raising the red scythe once more.

Catching the point of his scythe in the center of Cain's left hand, Abel gave a strong jerk on his end of the scythe. Cain was lifted into the air, immediately flung over Abel's shoulder, and slammed back-first into the metal floor. Without missing a step, the silver-haired priest turned around with his pistol aimed at Cain's forehead. "May God forgive you brother, because I _never _will," Abel said as he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Esther slapped the space pirate's pale cheeks to stay awake. "C'mon Ryoko! Keep talking to me!" The red-haired beauty's face was severely blurred; all Ryoko could see were blended hues of red, blue, and tan. "What is your favorite color?"

Trying to stay focused to answer the simple question was the hardest task, let alone saying it out loud. "R-red," she chuckled once at her response. "I-I've been losing…lots of that c-olor…"

"Affirmative," said Gunslinger as he peered over Esther's shoulder. The entire right side of Tres' face was smashed in. "From the blood patterns you have lost-"

"Shut the fuck up Tres!" Abel snapped in a distressed tone of voice off In the distance. "Help me get this damn tank running – now!"

_Abel_…_Swearing?_ Ryoko tried to lift up her head but failed. _Is this what it feels like to die slowly?_ She stared at the ceiling of the airship; it was just a smeared brown. _Well at least Ayeka will be pleased to have Tenchi all to herself…_

"Tenchi – come here…" the silver-haired priest ordered in a rush.

_Abel again_. A faint smile stretched across her bruised and bloodied face. _What a strange, bumbling priest that one is. I don't know how he manages to keep his head on straight sometimes. He is definitely peculiar…and fascinating…and sweet…_ Ryoko felt a pang in her chest. _I wish I had more time with you._

"I think we need to get off this thing-" Tenchi glanced at the control system to see flashing red lights in an unknown language to him, "-now."

Ryoko felt something warm wrap around her. She narrowed her yellow eyes to see red eyes staring back at her. _Hey, I was just thinking about you_… the space pirate simply smiled at Abel.

Abel lifted Ryoko into his arms with a solemn look in his red eyes. "_You're a fool_…" he whispered to her softly.

"_Sometimes…_" Ryoko coughed.

* * *

**Author's note: Just graduated from veterinary medicine. Hence the delay in updating. Sorry guys. One more chapter after this.**


	15. Reignite

"I haven't seen him look like this since Sister Noelle…" Valclav's voice drifted off as he watched Abel sitting next to his bed with a defeated look in his blue eyes. Valclav glanced over his shoulder to see Caterina Sforza staring emotionlessly at Father Nightroad with her arms firmly folded across her chest. "When will Father Tres' facial reconstruction be finished?"

"Soon…" Caterina did not take her calculating eyes off Abel. "Dr. Wordsworth is working with that short, pink-haired scientist right now."

Valclav placed his hand on her stiff shoulder, "Let's leave him be…" he tugged her softly away from the open doorway and shut the door behind them.

The priest hovered over his bed where Ryoko was sleeping with his head hanging low. His silver hair was disheveled, edges of his clothes were frayed, and his glasses were cracked. Abel reached out and gingerly wrapped his hand over hers. He looked at her with his soft blue eyes in longing, "I promised myself I would never let it happen again…" It didn't matter that she couldn't hear him – he had to say it before his heart exploded out of his chest. "…Not tell someone how I feel about them before it's too late," the priest sighed. He shook his head at how difficult it was to express his feelings, even to an unconscious person. "I'm glad you fell out of the sky…and into my life," Abel tightened his grip on her limp hand.

"I want you to know that it was the only way to save you," he brushed a stray blue hair away from her face. His heart sank, "I had to use _his_ nanomachinces…" The priest let out a long sigh as he lifted his head and stared out his window at the looming grey storm clouds. "I hope you'll forgive me," he glanced back to watch her sigh softly in her sleep.

He sat all night next to Ryoko, holding her hand in his the entire time, and praying for her speedy recovery. When the sun started to rise over the horizon Abel drifted off to sleep, slouching in his chair and snoring away. His broken glasses had slipped off his face and landed on his chest. He twitched in his sleep when he heard his name.

"Abel…" whispered the voice.

Opening one blue eye, the priest spotted Lady Caterina standing to the left of him. "Abel, we need to talk…_now_," she added in a harsher tone. The monocle that she typically wore in her right eye was dangling around her neck.

Sitting up straight in his seat, Father Nightroad nodded curtly to his superior in silence. He caught his cracked glasses just before they hit the ground. He followed her into Wordsworth's half-beaten library and instantly smelled the familiar sweet odor of a warm cup of tea and scones. As Caterina Sforza moved behind the wooden desk, Abel loaded the tea with thirteen lumps of sugar while his stomach started growling loudly.

The blonde cardinal had dark lines under her eyes, as if she hadn't much sleep in the last 24 hours. She had been busy organizing the reconstruction of the Vatican City and smoothing the Church's alliances with the Methuselah. "What you did was most absurd stunt you have ever pulled Abel," Caterina said in a stern voice.

"You blatantly ignored my strict orders. You went into the enemy's airship without any back-up and you endangered several innocent people's lives in the process. It was by pure damn luck that Father Tres wasn't obliterated for good. Not to mention that you injected Cain's nanomachines into that space pirate after your recklessness nearly killed her. We don't even know how her body will react to the nanomachines or what she will turn into! You knew…know that _she_ does not belong here Abel."

Caterina paced back and forth behind the desk in frustration. "Do you think that she would want to stay here after she found Tenchi? Do you really think Ryoko would stay with you Abel?" she watched Abel's shoulders stiffen.

Abel stuffed a scone into his mouth to keep himself in line. He could feel his anger starting to rise. Clenching his jaw, the priest refused to make eye contact with Caterina.

"Or maybe you thought you would go to her world instead," Caterina was intentionally striking a nerve with the priest. "We don't know how traveling 2,000 years will affect our world, or theirs. We need you _here_ Abel. You _belong_ here… Abel, you have to end this stupid affair…_now_." She stopped pacing when she heard Abel's cup clanking against the plate. The silver-haired priest had all of his attention focused on the bookcases against the wall behind Caterina. "Abel, are you even listening to me?"

Standing up so quickly that he knocked his chair over, Abel hands started to shake with rage. He narrowed his hardened blue eyes at Caterina just before he threw his tea cup against the door. The brown liquid stained the red carpet a darker color.

Caterina jumped back from his sudden outburst. Her words had cut deeper than she meant to. "Abel please don't go…" her voice trailed off as she helplessly watched him storm out of the library without saying a word, crunching the broken china under his shoes.

Abel was able to make it to the outer courtyard before he broke down and punched his fist at the sole remaining stone pillar. "Damn it all!" Ignoring the throbbing pain, Abel leaned his back against the pillar and slowly slumped down into the loamy soil. _What if she is right_? He felt his stomach flip over. _What if the nanomachines end up destroying her…or change her into something else? _Abel banged the back of his head on the cold stone. _You're a damn fool Abel. Damn fool for believing that everything would work out in the end. To have a happy ending…_ He buried his face into arms and groaned in despair.

"Abel…?" asked a soft warm voice.

Lifting his head, Abel's teary blue eyes recognized Esther. "Hello Esther," he sniffled as he rubbed away the tears from his cheeks with the back of his bloodied, swollen hand.

Esther knelt in front of him with a concerned look on her face. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and gingerly wrapped it around the priest's bloody knuckles. "Don't be angry with yourself Father Nightroad," she whispered calmly. She kept her hand over his wound and stared deep into his eyes. "You did well," Esther said sincerely, "You saved me…You saved us all."

_When did she become so grown-up?_ She had changed so much since the first time he met her. The redhead was now a strong, independent woman ruling the kingdom of Albion. Abel smiled weakly, "Thank you, Esther."

* * *

"It's been almost six hours…" Ayeka bit the bottom of her lip as she stared at the emergency button Washu had left her.

"What if you pull Washu back before she can find Ryoko and Tenchi?" Mihoshi asked the princess in a small voice.

"Then we try again…I guess," Ayeka sighed as she hovered her hand over the red button. _Five more minutes and then I'll press the button. You have better found them Washu_…

* * *

The watch on Washu's left wrist began to buzz loudly. "Uh-oh," the crazy scientist paused in the middle of her work to examine the time.

"What is wrong Washu?" Tenchi stopped helping Wordsworth with attaching a new eye to Gunslinger's empty socket.

Nervously scratching the back of her head, Washu explained to Tenchi about her back-up plan she had set up with Ayeka and Mihoshi back home in Tokyo. "That was just the five-minute warning…" she swallowed loudly.

"Ryoko isn't even conscious yet! We don't even know if she will be able to survive the trip back home!" Tenchi rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Could we come back for her?"

Washu removed the small black cube from her pocket; she had shrunk it for traveling purpose. A tiny cloud of grey smoke poured from the edges of the cube. "It took me several attempts to find you two…I don't think the cube will survive another trip through the time-space continuum."

"Can't you build another one?"

Washu held her head in shame, "It was one of Kagato's projects…I don't know how it works. It would take me years to figure it out."

The Earth boy was in a state of shock. If Washu couldn't figure it out, then no one could.

Father Tres turned his damaged head towards Tenchi, "Based on calculations of regeneration from Father Nightroad's nanomachines, Ryoko is at 45 percent regeneration. There is a 25 percent chance she will not survive traveling through the black hole at this moment." Even though the droid said everything in an emotionless tone, the way he looked at Tenchi with his one functioning eye showed concern.

"We'll just have to take our chances then," Tenchi said reluctantly.

"We better go Tenchi," Washu pulled out her green goggles from another random pocket in her yellow shorts. The crazy scientist said her goodbyes to Dr. Wordsworth and they exchanged handshakes.

Just as Tenchi followed Washu out of the room, Tres stopped him by calling out his name. Tenchi came back in to see Father Tres standing on his own and wobbling over to the repair table. He grabbed one of his pistols, which had a red rosary tied to the handle, and presented it to Tenchi. "For my friend," he stately simply.

Tenchi nodded, "I'll make sure she gets it when she wakes up."

Once the Earth boy was gone, Gunslinger contacted Abel through his internal communication ear piece. "Father Nightroad, I'd advise returning to your room to say your goodbyes."

Abel jerked his head up suddenly when he heard the transmission. _She is leaving?_ "Esther – I have to go before…" He leapt to his feet and bolted out of the courtyard at full speed, leaving the befuddled Esther kneeling in the soft ground.

Rushing back to Abel's room where Ryoko was resting, Tenchi found Washu injecting more of the white fluid concoction into the muscles of the space pirate's shoulder. Washu's watch started ringing again. Time was up. "Where's Abel?" Tenchi jumped back when the black cube in Washu's hand started to grow.

"There's no time!" Washu snapped the goggles over her face. "We have to go now!" she shouted as the cube created a massive black hole in the center of the room.

Stuffing the pistol in the back of his pants, Tenchi quickly scooped Ryoko into his arms. He stood next to Washu as they both took a step into the black hole. With a loud pop, the three of them were gone.

One minute later, Abel came bursting into his room out of breath. "I'm here – don't go Ryoko!"

"Ryoko?" he desperately searched his empty room. As the seconds passed, the sound of Abel's heartbeat grew louder and louder in his head. After franticly looking around his empty room in a state of panic, the humble priest suddenly realized that she was gone.

Esther walked into his room to find Abel sitting on the edge of his bed staring off into space with the color drained from his face. Without saying a word, Esther sat on the bed next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. "She's not coming back…" Abel said with a defeated look in his blue eyes just before he started to sob on Esther's shoulder.

* * *

Ryoko sat up in her bed in a panicked state of mind. "Abel?" rubbing the back of neck, Ryoko tried to remember what had happened. Her last stable memory was fighting Cain on the airship. She looked around at her surroundings – it was her own room back on Earth. Ryoko groggily climbed out of bed and nearly fell over. Her legs felt like jelly.

Shaking off her drunken-like state, the space pirate took a few bare foot steps forward before stopping at the doorway. Ryoko stared at the closed wooden door. She could hear laughter downstairs, it was most likely coming from the kitchen. In the back of her mind, Ryoko could picture Abel sitting at the Masaki dinner table flabbergasted by all the food their household could consume in one sitting. He was probable drooling over Sasami's cooking right now. Taking in a deep breath, Ryoko used her powers to walk through the door.

Yawning, Ryoko floated down the stairs unnoticed. She smiled as she watched Mihoshi trying to set the dishes on the table and Ayeka yelling at her for putting them in the wrong spot. Sasami was busy chopping carrots into a giant boiling pot with Ryo-Oki hovering under her feet waiting for a piece of carrot to fall within her reach. Washu was busy trying an experiment on Tenchi's father. He had a yellow helmet on that emitted tiny blue sparks that was making his face twitch whenever Washu tightened a bolt on the helmet.

Then there was Tenchi, sitting at the head of the table watching the Masaki family with a fond look in his eyes. He turned his head to see Ryoko floating at the bottom of the stairs wearing just a large, long-sleeve white t-shirt. He watched the smile on Ryoko's face slowly fade.

As she watched all of the Masaki family carry on like it was a typical day for them, it slowly dawned on Ryoko that Abel wasn't there. Tears formed at the corners of her yellow eyes and she bit the bottom of her quivering lip. "Where's Abel?" she finally blurted out so everyone could hear. The Masaki household went dead silent.

"Ryoko..." Tenchi stood up to start explaining what had happened but Ryoko teleported away. Tenchi glanced over to the rest of the family to see their saddened expressions. "I'll go talk to her," he sighed as he grabbed his jacket from the couch.

Climbing the stairs to the roof, Tenchi found Ryoko sitting on the edge of the roof staring at the night sky. Tears were streaming down her face. Tenchi placed his jacket around her shivering shoulders and took a seat next to her. They sat in silence watching the stars sparkling in the night sky.

"How long?" Ryoko finally asked without taking her eyes off the stars. A faint amount of hope still lingered that the next falling star she sees would be him.

"You've been unconscious for a week," Tenchi said uncomfortably. "Washu had set up an emergency protocol to get us back home…but she had only given herself six hours to find us. If we didn't take you…you would have never been able to come back home."

_He let me go?_ Ryoko felt crushed. "Did he say…did he say goodbye at least?"

"There wasn't enough time-" Tenchi watched as every word he said shattered her heart into tiny pieces, "He didn't even know that we left."

Ryoko tore her eyes away from the dark sky. She was angry and upset. "Go back inside before you catch a cold," the space pirate grumbled when she noticed him shivering on the roof top.

Sensing that she needed some space, Tenchi stood up on the roof. "Check my jacket pocket," he said quietly as he headed back inside the house.

Once he was gone, Ryoko stuffed her cold hands into the jacket's pockets. She pulled out a silver pistol with a red rosary hanging from the handle. She instantly recognized Father Tres' pistol. _They are really gone_. Ryoko tried to fight the oncoming tears but finally broke down and began sobbing on the roof by herself. _Don't leave me alone…_ she hugged the pistol close to her chest.

Weeks rolled on by. Tenchi grew more concerned for Ryoko as he watched her typically loud chaotic personality morph into a hallow soul. She stopped drinking sake. When the space pirate lacked the energy to argue with the princess anymore, Tenchi knew it was time to start finding a way back to the other world.

Every night Ryoko would sit on the roof watching the black sky for falling stars. By the fourth week, Ryoko was losing faith. She stared at the blinking stars with big yellow eyes desperately looking for the falling star.

Just as she was about to give up, a large star shot across the sky falling towards the Masaki shrine at the top of the forest. In a split second Ryoko had teleported off the roof and was flying to the shrine at full speed. She stopped at the top of the shrine's stone steps to see grey smoke coming from behind the shrine.

"Abel!" Ryoko teleported to the back of the shrine and ran through the smoke. She saw a large crater in the ground and felt a wave of relief hit her. "ABEL!" Ryoko summoned enough energy to cause a burst of wind. As the smoke cleared, Ryoko found herself standing in the middle of the crater alone. There was no sign of Abel.

Heartbroken, Ryoko dragged herself back to the Masaki household. At the front door, the cyan-haired space pirate turned back to look at the night sky for the last time. She heard the door open while she was looking up at the stars, "Don't worry Tenchi. I'm done for the night…"

"Didn't find what you were looking for?"

The voice did not belong to Tenchi. Ryoko's heart stopped beating. Slowly turning her head back to the door, Ryoko couldn't believe what she saw.

A silver-haired man with glasses stood in the doorway presenting her disheveled and broken flowers in his hands. "I'm sorry the flowers didn't make the trip-"

Ryoko tackled him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I thought I had lost you," she sobbed as she held him tightly.

"You can't get rid of this pathetic hide that easily," he whispered in her ear as he twirled her around in his arms.

They stared into each other's eyes. Ryoko pressed her forehead against his, "I love you." Hearing those words made his heart soar. Abel kissed her on the lips.

"Father Nightroad, I detect your heartbeat at an abnormally high rate," said a familiar emotionless voice.

Abel chose to ignore Gunslinger's remark and kissed Ryoko again. "He hasn't been the same since you left," the humble priest winked to his love. He glanced back to see the entire Masaki family staring at them. He nervously waved at them all.

"It's good to have you guys back," Tenchi was grinning from ear to ear.

Sasami ran up to Abel and Ryoko with bright eyes. "Ryoko said you had wings. Do you really have wings?"

He laughed at her curiosity. "Yes, in fact I do," he bent over to be at her eye level, "But it is a secret okay?"

"Okay!"

"Sasami let them come inside the house before you start bombarding them with questions," Ayeka scolded her younger sister. "Please come in and have some tea," she said in a pleasant tone of voice. She was relieved to see Ryoko smiling again.

While Ayeka prepared the tea, Sasami hovered over Father Tres asking him questions about his metal eye. "Ryoko said you are really good shooting the bad guys."

Father Tres gave her a serious look, "Affirmative."

Ryoko sat up on the roof with her feet dangling from the edge. She leaned against Abel, who finally looked at ease being in high places. "So this is Earth 2,000 years ago?" Abel watched the stars with her and listened to the summer wind blowing through the trees. "It's beautiful," he smiled as he wrapped his arm around Ryoko.

"I would come out here every night looking for a falling star. Wishing it was you."

"Washu had left some preliminary calculations with Wordsworth before…before you left. It took him a while, but he was able to reproduce the device," he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm surprised Caterina allowed you to leave."

"She didn't," Abel said truthfully. "She currently believes that I'm visiting Esther in Albion." The priest shook his head, "Once Father Tres had figured what I up to, he demanded me to take him with me…for protection of course." He started to laugh, "He even helped me pick flowers for you-"

"I want to go back with you," Ryoko said suddenly.

Abel stared blankly at Ryoko. "You really want to stay with me?"

"We're partners, remember?" Ryoko gave him a thumbs-up signal with her yellow eyes shining. "Besides, someone has to watch your ass-" her sarcastic remark was cut short by Abel pressing his lips against hers.

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
